


1.5k Followers Milestone

by terrawrites



Series: Tumblr Events [4]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Attempt at Humor, Batgirl!Reader, Blood and Gore, Board Games, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Drabbles, F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, Intervention, Klepto!Reader, Kleptomania, Lazer tag, Magic!Reader, Modern Royalty, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Royalty, Sorry (Board Game), dr. fate!reader, escape room, food truck rally, headcanons, mentions of torture, mini drabbles, reader becomes dr fate, the torture isn't graphic though, zombie survival simulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2019-08-29 01:19:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 25,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16734297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terrawrites/pseuds/terrawrites
Summary: The writing from mine and Rae's 1.5k followers milestone on our tumblr (@imagineyoungjustice)





	1. Table of Contents

We're currently just in the beginning of our 1.5k milestone requests on tumblr so I'd thought I'd start early and upload my writing here as well as I post each work. Below will be the list of the requests that I plan on writing in order as they appear below! Keep in mind that below is a very brief synopsis of each request, I copy/paste the request in full for the corresponding chapter in the summary!

 

Headcanons:

  1. Reader is Zatanna's protege and becomes Dr. Fate
  2. Reader is a princess who goes undercover as a Knight on the Team (Medieval AU)
  3. S2 Team lazer tag fight
  4. Team goes to a food truck festival
  5. S2 Team in a Batman-designed escape room



Mini Drabbles:

  1. Reader teaches Kaldur about surface holidays
  2. Team meeting Atom's protege aka the Reader
  3. Reader who can communicate with animals talking to Beast Boy (and thinking he's that animal)
  4. Team doing a zombie survival simulation
  5. Klepto Reader having an intervention by the Team
  6. Team playing a game of Sorry
  7. Reader hacking into the Watchtower
  8. Reader telling the team about fighting with Wonder Woman
  9. Team trying the Coke/Pop Rocks combo
  10. Reader going to Black Canary for Support after a panic attack



Drabbles:

  1. Team going undercover at Reader's masquerade ball
  2. Batgirl!Reader trying to outsmart Jaime's scarab (Jaime/Reader)
  3. Bart who only speaks in cringy slang for a week
  4. Team keeping busy with no internet
  5. Sidelined Part 3 (woo!)
  6. Reader floods the Watchtower with popcorn
  7. Reader with powers that derive from their imagination binging horror movies/books (not a good idea imo)
  8. Reader forces the team to listen to listen to music they don't like as retaliation
  9. Zatanna and her civillian S/O continuation: reader has to stay in the watchtower with the team
  10. Team helping Conner with his chores on the Kent Farm



 


	2. Reader is Zatanna's protege and becomes Dr. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Headcanons for Dr Fate!Reader joining the team? / I was thinking more Reader was originally Zatanna's protege and made a deal with Nabu to free Zatara, but whatever you like more!
> 
>  
> 
> Okay so I fucked this one up pretty good because the request said Zatanna's Protege but I accidentally did them as Zatara's Protege at first so this contains the messed up first version and the adendum second version below (will eventually be updated to include headcanons for more about the team's reactions later on)

Version 1

  * You couldn’t stand by anymore.
  * You and Zatanna had already been close friends before either of you joined the team
  * Since you were also proficient in magic, Zatara had offered to teach you the ways of the arcane alongside his daughter Zatanna
  * The two of you had become partners in crime, which only solidified more once the two of you started hanging out with the team
  * You had loved Zatara like he your own father
  * So you were equally as heartbroken alongside Zatanna when Nabu refused to release Zatanna, and Zatara accepted her place
  * Zatanna _needed_ her father, everyone could see it plain as day
  * You not so much, at least from what you could tell
  * So you began training in secret, in order for this plan to work, you had to be better than Zatara, you had to make yourself irresistible to the Lord of Order
  * And that meant bringing your arcane abilities to the highest level you possibly could without harming your body in any way, otherwise Nabu wouldn’t take your deal.
  * It took exactly one year for you to achieve this, on the anniversary of Zatara giving himself to the role of Dr. Fate
  * You snuck out of the mountain with ease, your powers long since surpassing the mountain’s ability to keep you in
  * You knew you had more than enough time to make the deal before the League or the Team could find you and get to you to stop this
  * Summoning him took no effort at all
  * You had caught Nabu’s gaze long ago, the Lord of Order carefully monitoring your progress
  * He recognized the raw arcane talent you possessed, and how great it could be when honed correctly
  * Zatara had seen it too, but his protests to Nabu fell flat
  * Nabu knew exactly why you were there, and the terms were agreed upon the moment he showed up
  * Zatara was finally allowed to remove the helmet which had kept him for a year
  * He tried to get prevent you from getting the helmet, but the deal had already been struck, and you were not one to cross a Lord of Order
  * The duel was quick, Zatara was no match from the fruits of your rigorous training
  * Restrained, he could only beg one last time for you to quit
  * But you didn’t
  * You donned the helmet, and became the next Doctor Fate
  * That was when the rest of the League found you, the Team hot on their heels
  * From your place inside the helmet, you could only watch as Zatanna crumbled into her father’s side, a mix of relief and sorrow as she sobbed in his arms
  * You felt a pang in your heart at the sight, but you knew that this was for the best
  * Your place was on the team as Dr. Fate
  * You were just glad that Zatanna had gotten her family back



Version 2 (what the request was supposed to be)

  * For the most part things wouldn’t be that different from the other version
  * You are still taken under Zatanna’s wing due to Zatanna recognizing the pure arcane talent within you
  * This would probably be post season 2 of the show then
  * Zatanna is still young and she’s very much new at this, but she was ready to take on the challenge of a protege
  * And as much as it pained her to be around Dr. Fate still, she would go to the Lord of Order for help in training you if there was something out of her abilities
  * You were quick to pick up on something in her interactions with Dr. Fate, but you weren’t sure what was wrong until you started asking around
  * Conner was the one to tell you, most of the other older members having awkwardly turned you away 
  * Conner thought you had deserved to know, but he did stress that you should have asked Zatanna about it instead of asking around behind her back
  * You couldn’t help but feel sorrow when you heard about what happened with her father and Dr. Fate 6 years ago
  * This is where it lines up with the first set of headcanons
  * You training your skill further in secret, away from the gaze of those on the watchtower, summoning Nabu and making the deal
  * Zatanna is older now though, and more mature
  * and even though she is still very young, she can’t feel quite the same amount of happiness as she would have if she was younger
  * She still only feels the pain as yet another person sacrifices themselves to Nabu for her choice all those years ago




	3. Reader is a princess who goes undercover as a Knight on the Team (Medieval AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terra! Can you please do hcs for being a princess who goes undercover as a knight and part of the team?/ A medieval au would be so cool! That didn't even cross my mind! Please if you could? -Anonymous
> 
> This was originally 6+ pages in Microsoft word and the Reader hadn't even joined the team yet so I cut them down some and just decided to expand on this more if people would like to see more. I also blame my unhealthy obsession with Dragon Age fro why it even got that long in the first place lol (as always though constructive criticism is welcomed, especially because I'm pretty sure this is my first major AU like this)

  * As long as you could remember you had grown up in a life of luxury
  * You were fortunate, your parents ruled fair, and as a result your kingdom prospered
  * As the Princess, and sole heir to your parents throne, there was no expense spared for you
  * You supposed that success is what made your family such a large target
  * Or more specifically, you
  * There were always conspirators for the throne in every nook and cranny of the world, but the successful ones were always more desirable, everyone wanted a cut of the riches
  * Though you were still a teen, there were many in the public who believed that it was time you took a suitor
  * Marrying young, especially for political gain was always commonplace among the royals and nobility
  * Already neighboring kingdoms had been petitioning your father for courtship rights, anything to gain the political and economic upper hand
  * You were blessed to have such parents who would rather let you choose when you were ready, and the letters not used for kindle received very polite replies in which they were kindly told to fuck right on off
  * That was the reason for the attempted coup
  * You had awoken from your slumber by the sounds of fighting in the courtyard below
  * Frightened, you had crept to the window of your bedchamber, only to stumble back in shock at the violence below
  * The palace guards were holding off the invaders the best they could, but from the sounds in the halls you could tell that some had already made it in
  * Your father had burst in your room a few moments later, accompanied by the most elite members of the family’s personal guard and your mother as well as some of the general staff
  * Your father was dressed in his battle armor, and you had to quell the worry in your gut at the spots where it was clear a blade had struck through the metal at its weakest points
  * You were quickly ushered out of the castle through the tunnels that were built for this exact purpose
  * You, your mother, the castle staff and a select few of the guards in that entourage were all that fled the castle, your father and everyone else who was still alive stayed behind to quell the coup and restore order
  * From your family’s summer cabin in the countryside, you were relieved to hear the news that your father was able to regain control and that there were no serious injuries or casualties on your side
  * However until the main conspirators were captured, your father stressed that you and the rest of your guard remain there safe until they could be found
  * And that is how you stayed, albeit reluctantly for many months
  * You weren’t allowed to go into town at all or even very far in your own land surrounding the small cottage lest some traveler recognize you or your mother and word is spread
  * You were growing restless with this new restriction to your freedom
  * On one hand you knew it was the only way to guarantee your safety, but on the other hand you were feeling like you would go mad from the sheer boredom
  * Some of the guards had taken pity on your situation, and with your mother’s permission, began letting you train with them in the mornings and evenings
  * You mother didn’t like the idea of you learning such a dangerous art, but with everything that had happened recently she knew that having you learn some form of self defense was well worth it
  * So train you did, able to focus your body and mind so fully on the task with the lack of stimuli around that you managed to hone your skills at rate which surprised even your most veteran of guards
  * But you peace wouldn’t last
  * You family’s cottage wasn’t advertised, but there were always rumors about it, so it was only a matter of time before the conspirators had managed to gain enough information to track it down
  * Once again you awoke to the sounds of metal clashing against metal, but unlike the last time, you were ready
  * This time you fought back with a ferocity that even scared yourself
  * And when the dust settled, you saw the carnage you had left behind
  * That was when you made the decision
  * You mother was already rallying the frazzled staff while the guards tended to the bodies in the wake of the ambush
  * You were to leave in the morning for another safehouse
  * You shrugged off any attempts the maidens made to aid you, and you locked yourself in your quarters
  * You knew that as long as you stayed with your mother, you would only continue to put her and everyone else in danger
  * So once the house had settled once again, you snuck out into the night, taking your horse from the stable and riding off before the guards could fully realize what had happened and pursue you
  * You rode your beast hard, it was well into the morning before you gave the poor creature a much needed break once you had deemed the area safe enough
  * You kept on the move from then on
  * You would stray into town in the earliest hours of dawn only, where no one would be able to recognize you and no one would ask too many questions
  * You only stayed long enough to gather the latest news before heading out
  * You stayed mostly off the roads during the day, moved only under the cover of nightfall
  * But you never gave up your training
  * You were constantly upgrading your armor and gear with the money you had taken with you
  * You intended to play the part of a Knight, and you did your best to look and act the part
  * Eventually you started intervening on behalf of the innocent, standing up to those whose hearts were claimed by greed and corruption
  * You hadn’t realized you were turning yourself into one of  _Them_  until you had picked a fight bigger than yourself, and they swooped in to your rescue
  * You watched in awe as the Dark Knight himself carved his way through the battlefield through brute force alone, his younger protégé darting in and around the bodies, using any opportunity to strike where it would count the most
  * When all was said and done, the Dark Knight propositioned you to join a team of young up and coming defenders from all classes and talents
  * In truth you were still awestruck at meeting one of the Defenders of Justice in person
  * You had heard the tales growing up, men and women of all births and skills taking up arms to fight the corruption of the world in order to protect the innocent
  * The people praised them, regarded them as saviors
  * And now they wanted you to join their ranks (sort of, but hey you’ll take it)
  * You had apparently caught their eye a long time ago, showing promise even during your first few jobs that you had taken
  * You weren’t sure if they knew your identity, as even by that point your physical appearance had changed as a life on the move had taken its toll, but you knew that with them you would be as safe as you could possibly be
  * and in the meantime, you would finally be able to effectively make a stand against the corruption that continuously threatens your kingdom from the darkest crevasses
  * You were struck again with awe as you met the rest of your team the following night
  * There was Robin, whom you had already met along with the Dark Knight. He was your team’s infiltrator, adept at duel-wielding daggers and getting in and out of places unseen
  * There was Kaldur, an actual Atlantean. He wasn’t as adept at sorcery as some of your other teammates, but his leadership was second to none, and his physical adeptness was nothing to laugh about
  * There was Conner, and Raquel, two other Knights like yourself. Raquel shared your skill with the sword and shield while Conner was more proficient in the two-handed weapons class
  * Zatanna was your team’s major sorceress
  * M’gann came from a distant land. She possessed rare and unique magical abilities which let her delve into the minds of anyone she wished and to move objects through the power of her thoughts. She was a terrifying force hidden behind quite the friendly demeanor
  * Wally, or “Kid Flash” as he was nicknamed on account of his Alchemical genius that was only rivaled by his mentor Flash. He could make a potion for just about anything Zatanna could conjure, provided he had the right materials, he was even capable of a potion that was said to grant himself the power to move faster than the human eye could detect, but only temporarily and it came with some side effects
  * Artemis was your team’s archer, and if her skill was even half of the legend of her mentor Green Arrow’s, you knew that there was nothing she couldn’t hit
  * You were welcomed into the team with open arms, and soon enough you were settled into what you later found out to be a hollowed mountain up in the northern territories of you father’s kingdom.
  * It was located on the edge of a smaller fishing and port town that was relatively peaceful and quiet.
  * Your father had called the town a rather dull and unremarkable one, so you had never paid much attention on your family’s visits during your father’s routine tours of the kingdom
  * You would never be able to view the town the same way again
  * You kept mostly to yourself when you weren’t propositioned by M’gann or Kaldur to partake in some activity or another with the team
  * None of them seemed to recognize you the first time you had tentatively taken off your armor, and you wanted to limit as much interaction as you could to limit suspicion until you could fake your own alternate identity
  * You were determined to use your position on this team to track down and eliminate every last conspirator that attempted a coup over a year ago by then
  * Maybe then you would finally be able to go home




	4. S2 Team lazer tag fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can I get some headcanons for a prank war or paintball/laser tag fight with the s2 team? -Anonymous
> 
> This made me miss playing lazer tag tbh. Now I wanna go play a round or three.

  * It was hectic to say the least
  * Probably Bart’s idea to go play lazer tag in the first place
  * Either that or Jaime’s or some combination of the two
  * It took some convincing to Kaldur to allow it
  * After all for the entire team to do anything together it would require spending some time to fashion a disguise for La’gann on account that he couldn’t really pass as a human as easily as Kaldur could
  * Eventually he relented with a sigh and spoke to Zatanna the first moment he could about a solution
  * She got back to him a few days later with a charm similar to the one given to Artemis when she went undercover with him
  * That works
  * So the next off day for the team, they were piling out of their cars in front of the local Lazer Tag arena
  * After sitting through the usual spiel about no running (that literally no one ever follows) and no climbing and all that, everyone split into teams
  * Tim, Jaime, Bart, Conner, Kaldur, Cassie, and Virgil were on Team 1
  * Karen, Mal, Barbara, M’gann, La’gaan, and Gar were on Team 2
  * There were going to be several rounds, so Virgil offered to switch off which team he was a part of each time to keep things as even as they could be all things considering
  * The only reason Tim and Barabra weren’t on the same team was for that very reason
  * It would be way too unfair to the other team to go up against _two_ batkids
  * They were brought into the arena and allowed to take up their positions
  * Once the match started, the chaos also began
  * The match type was set to a capture the flag setting, so in that small amount of time before the match, each team had come up with their own strategy
  * Team 1’s plan was to split into pairs, with two pairs drawing the other team’s attention and fire while advancing while the third pair stayed behind
  * The pairs were Jaime & Bart (obviously), Kaldur & Conner then Cassie & Virgil staying by the flag to guard it
  * Tim’s job was to use his training to slip behind the “enemy lines” and take their flag
  * Team 2 on the other hand, decided to keep Barbara at the flag, with the other five attempting to advance in a line as one towards Team 1’s flag
  * Both strategies were good, and the middle became a stalemate. Team 1 was effectively holding Team 2’s attention while Tim slipped around, and Team 2 would occasionally advance some distance before being pushed back
  * The real battle was when Tim encountered Barbara at the flag
  * The two of them became locked in a heated Lazer firefight, throwing playful jabs as they both used every last bit of their training to try and gain the upper hand
  * Eventually their fight drew the attention of the remaining players from both sides and then both plans descended into madness as everyone began running around trying to shoot the other team
  * The match finally ended when Kaldur realized he had ended up next to Team 2’s unguarded flag somehow amidst the chaos, and with a quick look around he saw that everyone else was too preoccupied to notice
  * He simply shrugged and grabbed the flag, casually walking over to his team’s side of the arena where the match ended and looks of confusion were exchanged between the other members as they processed what had actually happened
  * They took a break after that for snacks and spent some time in the arcade before going in for a second round
  * The poor employees weren’t getting paid enough to deal with all this as they watched Tim and Barbara flip across the map
  * At the end of the day ~~when the employees finally kicked them out~~ they returned to the watchtower with a promise to do something like that again




	5. Team goes to a food truck festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh Terra could you bless us with some headcanons for the team going to a food truck festival or something of the like (it’d probably be a disaster with the speedsters and everything lol) -Anonymous
> 
> I used the season 1 team for this! Also sorry these are short, I couldn’t think of too much for them to do (I’ve also never been to one), but I think overall it would be a pretty tame event for the team to go to regardless -Terra

  * You already know this was Wally’s idea
  * Of course, he would be all over something like this with his metabolism
  * Probably a summer event or something in Happy Harbor
  * It didn’t take much to get the rest of the team to go along
  * The chance to try a bunch of different kinds of food for a good portion of the day?
  * Yeah, the team was all in
  * After all it’s a group of growing teenagers and teens can be quite the bottomless pit sometimes whether or not they have an altered metabolism
  * They all paid to get in and managed to stick together as a group
  * For once things didn’t go wrong for them
  * Wally was determined to stop at literally every food truck and get something to eat
  * The rest of the team would get something here and there, and more often than that they would end up sharing some of the items between each other.
  * All in all it turned out to be a nice relaxing event for the team to go to
  * And they got to gorge themselves on good food so really it was a win-win
  * Towards the end I could see Robin, Wally and maybe even Rocket and Kaldur getting roped into a mini contest where they try to eat the spiciest food item they could find
  * Kaldur would win hands down on the grounds where I could totally see him just being able to not react at all even if the spice was killing him inside
  * He just seems like he’s the kind of person to be able to hide his reaction like that idk
  * Maybe occasionally they would purposefully order something that was going to taste nasty for the laughs, but I think it would be a pretty tame event for them after all
  * Before they went back, they would definitely bring a thing or two back for Wolf that was safe for him to eat (and something for Black Canary if she didn’t end up going with them)




	6. S2 Team in a Batman-designed escape room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terra! Please feed my need to have s2 team trying to solve an escape room made by Batman hcs! -Anonymous
> 
> Hopefully I can get working on the Mini Drabbles next before things get too chaotic with finals and the general end-of-semester workload as the professors realize they wasted too much time in class and now have to quick teach everything that's needed.

  * Kaldur thought it would be a good team-building exercise to bring back
  * Batman had put the older members through the same thing when they were younger
  * So with a few words, Kaldur was able to convince the Bat to create another one for the newer members of the team, to see how well they could work together under pressure
  * In all honesty, Tim and Barbra had probably already been through their fair share of Batman-designed escape rooms, so they knew their way around them well enough
  * But they were both given instructions to dial it back so they could work through it as a team
  * Since there were so many of them, they were split into groups of 5
  * Tim, Jaime, Karen, La’gaan, and Virgil were Team 1
  * Barbara, Bart, Mal, Cassie, and Gar were Team 2
  * Tim’s team went first. Since he had the most experience, the others were the most comfortable letting Tim lead them through
  * Jaime with his scarab proved to be really good when it came to some of the number puzzles while Karen was just as good when it came to the other types
  * Tim was able to guess most of the riddles immediately (he had a lot of practice one could say), and of course it wouldn’t be a Batman Escape Room without some degree of physical puzzles that required one or more of their skills. La’gaan and Virgil proved to be especially adept in this section and they were out of the escape room with minimal difficulties
  * Then it was Team 2’s turn
  * For the same reasons, Barbara stepped up to command
  * Bart at first proved to be a little difficult in reigning in, as he was prone to acting on his impulses and not always thinking everything through at first, but it wasn’t long before Barbara was able to reign him in and get the team in order
  * Barbara handled most of the number puzzles, Gar and Mal were able to put their heads together to answer the other types of puzzles, Gar’s more out-of-the-box thinking came in handy and even if the first answer he gave was incorrect it often led Mal and him to the right direction they needed to get the actual answer
  * Bart and Cassie ended up being the ones to complete most of the physical puzzles, as their abilities complimented each other for the required tasks quite effectively
  * Overall both teams were able to get through the escape room with minimal difficulty
  * Even though there ended up being minor squabbles as Kaldur kept changing the teams around (mainly revolving around leadership), once each team established clear roles for everyone based on each other’s strengths and weaknesses there was nothing stopping each team from completing the room before the time limit (albeit some instances were rather close calls)
  * In the end, Kaldur (and even Batman who had shown up to check on their status) was impressed with how well the newer members of the team were able to adapt to the challenges presented and work together to get through their current situation
  * He just hoped it went as well when Batman forced the older member to join in




	7. Reader teaches Kaldur about surface holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can I get a mini-drabble with the reader teaching Kaldur about different surface holidays?? Love you guys xoxox -Liz
> 
> I finally got around to writing something! Woo! Also considering the time of year I just picked the ones happening in and around now to directly mention so sorry if you wanted something a different! -Terra

           “Why do surface dwellers continue to celebrate Thanksgiving then?” Kaldur looked puzzled as he sat across from you at the table, picking at his food while he tried to come up with a reasonable answer.

           “It’s not really ‘surface dwellers’ as a whole, just mainly those of us in the US for this particular Thanksgiving.” You replied, pushing your fork around your plate. You had asked your boyfriend to come out shopping with you today, now that thanksgiving had passed, and Christmas was upcoming, you wanted to get a head start on your gift shopping so that you wouldn’t be scrambling later on. The two of you had taken a break for lunch when Kaldur had started asking you about the different surface holidays and why you guys celebrated them. It was a good question, and so you two ended up in your current situation.

           “And so you celebrate the culling of those native to this land?”

           “Kind of yeah? To be honest most Americans like to pretend that everything we did and still do to the Native Americans doesn’t exist. Also, capitalism.”

           “And what about Christmas? Isn’t that supposedly a religious holiday celebrating the birth of what those under the Christian religion consider to be the son of their God? How does a guy in a red suit delivering presents to the good children fit in to that? Capitalism?

           “Capitalism.” You couldn’t help but chuckle a little as Kaldur just shook his head.

           “Surface Holidays confuse me.”

           “I don’t blame you, there’s a lot of different holidays. Right around this month is also Hanukkah a Jewish holiday lasting eight days, and Kwanzaa which begins the twenty-sixth of this month if I’m remembering correctly.”

           “Seems the end of the year is quite the busy time for surface dwellers then, there seems to be quite a lot to celebrate.”

           “Yeah I guess there is depending on your religion and culture. What about holidays in Atlantis?” You asked, taking a sip of your drink.

           He face seemed to light up at the question. “There are quite a few in Atlantis…”


	8. Team meeting Atom's protege aka the Reader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about a mini drabble where the team meets the Atom’s protege aka the reader for the first time? -Anonymous
> 
> I realized after writing this that Ion is the name of a Green Lantern mantle but for the sake of this let’s just pretend it’s not. It fits better as the name of Atom’s protege anyway. -Terra

           You sucked in a breath as you walked into the (now repaired) Hall of Justice. You had been once before when you were younger on a family vacation, but now you were older, and a lot of things were different.

           “Are you ready?” Your mentor asked, he stood in front of the Zeta tube that would take you both to the Watchtower where you would meet the team. You took a deep breath in.

           “Let’s do it.”

           He nodded and entered you into the system, and before you knew it you were there. Your eyes grew to twice their size as you looked around in amazement. Members of the League were walking around, each busy with their own tasks. You kept close to Atom, not wanting to lose your way as he made his way to the Team’s designated area.

           So wrapped up in your surroundings, you almost bumped into him when he made and abrupt stop. “Ion, I would like you to meet the Team. Stating today you’ll be a part of them, deploying with them on missions. Eventually, you might even join me in the ranks of the Justice League.

           “Welcome Ion, I am Aqualad, the leader of this team, but you may call me Kaldur.” The dark skinned Atlantean that had been waiting near your mentor stepped forward, extending his webbed hand.

           You quickly shook it, your nerves getting the best of you now that you were face to face with the leader of the team. “N-nice to meet you.”

           He smiled, and it calmed you down somewhat. He led you further into the area after your mentor departed with a short goodbye and a promise to check in on you later. You didn’t realize how many members there were until you two rounded the corner and saw them all standing there. You paled under your mask when they all turned their attention towards the two of you.  _They were waiting for you to show up_ , you mind thought in a panic.

           You did your best to keep it cool, as each member of the team came up to you to greet you after Kaldur explained that you would be joining them. In all honesty, you were so overwhelmed that most of the greeting process went by in a blur, and before you could fully register it and come out of your daze, you were standing amongst the rest of the Team as Kaldur prepared to deploy everyone on your first mission.

           You looked to your left, and saw Blue Beetle -Jaime, your mind supplied- give you a reassuring look and a thumbs up. You smiled back, feeling your nerves settle down completely. You were going to be just fine.


	9. Reader who can communicate with animals talking to Beast Boy (and thinking he's that animal)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could I please get a mini drabble where the reader can communicate with animals, and accidentally talks to beast boy like he’s a real animal her first day on the team? -Anonymous
> 
> Poor reader lmao -Terra

You walked through the halls of the Watchtower, taking in all the different sights and sounds of the giant orbiting base. Today was your first day as part of the Team, a smaller, younger, subsidiary of the Justice League. Your mentor had dropped you off in the team’s work area, but when it was clear they were still deployed on a mission, you took to wandering around the area, familiarizing yourself with everything so you wouldn’t get embarrassingly lost in front of the others later on.

You rounded a corner and jumped when you saw a green wolf. Judging by the way the canine jumped as well, you would gather that the two of you actually startled each other. “I’m sorry,” you said softly, turning the corner once again, “I didn’t mean to startle you, please don’t be frightened.”

_‘Takes a lot more than that to scare me don’t worry.’_  The wolf replied. This didn’t startle you like it would have with others, you were long use to your powers by now, so conversing with animals was just a regular part of life for you. ‘ _Who are you anyway?_ ’ You had heard the team had a pet wolf from your mentor, and maybe it was for the best that he would be your first introduction to the team.

“I’m supposed to be your newest member, but I guess everyone else is out on a mission right now. Did the team leave you behind?” You asked, sitting down with your back against the wall.

_‘They did, I got injured the last time so Kaldur said I should sit this one out until I’m all cleared by medical. But it’s boring just sitting around here all day. Wait, how do you know what I’m saying?_

“My powers allow me to talk to animals.” You paused and considered your situation. “Well I might know something that we could do while we wait. I’m sure you know the tower pretty well by now. How about you give me a tour?”

_‘Yes! Leave it to me I’ll be the best tour guide ever!’_  The wolf jumped up in excitement, his tail swishing back and forth at a rapid pace. You let yourself be led around the Watchtower by the wolf, listening as he listed off each area. Eventually the two of you entered the main area, where you froze in your tracks as the rest of the team was already waiting for you.

           “There you are. I am sorry that we were away when you got here but I am glad that you were not waiting alone. I assume that Beast Boy has already showed you around?” Aqualad had said as he stepped forward.

           “Yep! I gave them the grand tour!” Beast Boy said as he shifted back into his human form. You just stood there dumbfounded, your eyes wide. A quick glance towards Superboy and you saw a giant white wolf at his heels and the pieces finally clicked.

            _“WAIT A MINUTE.”_


	10. Team doing a zombie survival simulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to request G E E S E from Rae (jk jk Terra can you write a mini drabble where the team does a zombie survival simulation or something like that?) -J
> 
> I’m going to be perfectly honest, I am a boring bean who hasn’t done many fun things so I guessed A LOT in his mini drabble so please forgive any inaccuracies -Terra

           Cassie couldn’t remember whose idea it originally was, all she knew was that it was her boyfriend Tim who talked her into it. If she had to take a guess though? It was probably Bart’s fault. That kid had a penchant for trying to rope everyone in to as many “retro” events as he could. Cassie couldn’t complain too much however, after hearing what his future was like, she couldn’t blame him for wanting to go out and do as many things as he could, since it sounded like everything in his future was little more than scavenging in rubble.

           Soon Cassie, Tim, Bart, Jaime, and Virgil had reached the building where they would sign up. Normally, minors had to have an adult accompany them, but Cassie knew that Tim had pulled some strings with his name from behind the scenes they could do this for Bart.

           After waiting around the lobby area, one of the event operators had stepped up to a small makeshift stage and explained what everyone was supposed to do. It seemed like the goal was to try and make it to a location across town while avoiding the actors dressed as zombies. Everyone would be given a gun and other items like ammo had to be scavenged.

           It seemed simple enough to Cassie, and soon their small group had put on their “survival gear” and grabbed the nerf weapons which had been handed to them. As soon as they were cleared, they rushed into the zone and began to make their way towards the first “safe house.” Tim and Virgil had already come up with a plan of action while they were waiting in the lobby that Cassie had only half-paid attention to. But she did smile at how happy Bart seemed as they made their way through the “infected” city blocks.

           “Do you think it’s cheating if I use the scarab as a warning system?” Jaime asked suddenly.

           “Probably, but who cares I want to win this!” Bart replied.

           “Okay cool, don’t go right then up ahead.” Jaime replied. Cassie just snorted and kept an eye out on her left for any approaching zombies. With Tim and Virgil’s plan along with the help of Jaime’s scarab, they started clearing through the course at record speed. Of course, they still ran into pockets of actors on purpose so as not to make things too suspicious, but as time went on Cassie found herself enjoying the game more and more.

           “Look ahead, there’s the exit!” Virgil called as they turned the street corner.

           “Run for it we have a huge group coming up behind us!” Tim yelled, looking back the way they came. Cassie and the rest of the group made a dash for the exit to the simulation, shooting over their shoulders at the actors who got too close.

           Cassie breathed a sigh of relief as she crossed the finish line, looking around to see everyone else had made it too. They all broke out into laughter at seeing they were the first ones through.

           “If the apocalypse ever happens, I call Jaime.” Bart said with a laugh.


	11. Klepto Reader having an intervention by the Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey Terra, can you please with a cherry in top write a mini drabble for the team staging an intervention for their klepto teammate? -Anonymous
> 
> Stealing is wrong my dudes. Get help if you have a serious issue with stealing things. I hope that I also did this justice. -Terra

           You froze as you walked into the common room of the cave, seeing the team and some of the league members looking at you with a mixture of disparagement and concern in their gazes. You felt that sinking feeling in your stomach and you knew exactly why they were all there, why they were all looking at you like that. You felt yourself starting to feel defensive and took a few more tentative steps into the room.

           “We need to talk.” Black Canary spoke, her voice the same as when she sat down with each of you for therapy following the Failsafe experiment. “I’m sure you already know what for, please sit down so we can begin.”

           You took the seat in front of you, one that kept you separate from everyone else on the other side of the room. You could see in Black Canary’s eyes that she was disappointed in your choice of seating. “An intervention? Really? I’m not even that bad and you’re staging an intervention over a few small items?” You weren’t really angry, but your panic at being thrown on the spot like this was making you appear that way. Already you were scanning for exit strategies in case things got bad.

           “We all know that this isn’t just ‘a few small items.’ Lying to yourself and us about how bad you’ve gotten is only going to make this problem worse, not better.” With that, Dinah produced a list from you didn’t know where. She began listing off all the items you had “lifted” since joining the team. You felt your face begin to heat with shame as she kept on. Okay maybe there were a lot more than you were willing to admit.

           “Please know that we’re only having this intervention because we care about you and what happens to you,” Canary spoke again once she had finished. “We know you’re capable of stopping working towards stopping.” She said. “You were doing just fine before. What changed?”

           You brought your knees closer to your body. “I…” You turned your gaze from Canary’s eyes towards the ground. You didn’t want to admit it out loud.

           “Please tell us.” Kaldur interjected.

           “Yeah you’re our team member, we want to know what we can do to help you past this.” Wally said.

           “It was the failsafe mission.” You said quietly, they almost didn’t hear you.

           “It’s okay. That experiment was difficult on everyone, it threw you off in the worst way, so you resorted back to something you were comfortable with, stealing.” You just nodded as she spoke, keeping your gaze downwards still, refusing to meet the eyes of your team. You felt the seat next to you dip and suddenly M’gann and Robin were on either side of you, putting their hands on your shoulder in reassurance.

           “We’ll help you through this, but you need to want to work towards quitting again, otherwise we can’t keep you on the team” Canary said again. You just nodded.


	12. Team playing a game of Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minidrabble for Monopoly (or Sorry) night with the team? -Anonymous
> 
> I went ahead and used Sorry! since I’m pretty sure I’ve used Monopoly twice now for drabbles. I hope you enjoy! -Terra

           “Sorry~” Zatanna cooed at a frustrated Robin. She only received a grumble in response as he moved his piece back to his piece’s start.

           “We’ll see whose sorry later on.” Robin retorted.

           “Aren’t you two a little young for that kind of stuff?” Raquel asked, her eyebrow raised. She only laughed when Robin sputtered, his cheeks turning crimson with embarrassment.

           “Th-that’s not what I meant!”

           “Sure it’s not. Now take your turn boy wonder.” Raquel answered. Currently it was Zatanna, Raquel, Robin and Kaldur in the mountain. It was one of their rare days off, and the rest of the team had left at some point or another with plans of their own, leaving the four of them to find something to do to occupy their downtime. It was Zatanna who had suggested the game, and Raquel and Kaldur had agreed after a little convincing.

           Currently Zatanna was winning with four of her five yellow pieces in her home, and Raquel had to admit that it was fun watching Robin get knocked down a peg or two. He had been so confident when they first started that he was going to wipe the floor with the rest of them. Kaldur was in second with two of his blue pieces in home and one on the way in, Raquel in third with two of her green pieces in her home, having Robin in dead last with none of her red pawn safe was more than enough for her not to care about her own placement. If Zatanna’s lead was due in any part to some spell or another she had cast it didn’t matter much to her.

           Next to her, Kaldur let out a sigh as he studied the board. The rules could be a little difficult to grasp for first time players, and she could tell that he was struggling a little to remember what each card did and how the rules for bumping other pawns worked. She still remembered how difficult it was for her when she first played the game when she was young, and the little tantrum she threw every time one of her pieces got bumped back to the start. She made sure to help him out as often as she could.

           The game continued much the same. Robin would get close to having his first pawn safe, and either Zatanna, Raquel or Kaldur would be able to knock it back to his starting area. Under her laughter, maybe she felt a little bad for him, but it was still pretty funny to watch him fail. Maybe next time he wouldn’t talk so much shit before the game.


	13. Reader hacking into the Watchtower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Rae write an imagine where Reader hacks into the Hall of Justice or the Watchtower? (changed to a mini drabble) -Anonymous
> 
> This was actually pretty fun and I don’t know shit about hacking -Terra

           You sat in front of your monitor, scanning over the lines to your hacking program that you had made. You weren’t planning anything malicious, you were simply a teen bored out of their mind on summer vacation with nothing better to do than work on your skills as a hacker and try to hack your way into places you didn’t belong for no other reason than to see if you could. Of course, you were careful not to get caught, and if anything, you were doing these places a service by showing them that their systems weren’t as secure as they believed them to be.

           Today however you were probably about to try one of the stupidest things you have done yet. Probably your only friend, after hearing about the places you had already hacked into, dared you to try and hack into the Hall of Justice. You had declined when he first mentioned it, hacking into the Hall of Justice? That had to be impossible right? It was the headquarters of the Justice League of course it would be impossible to get into… wouldn’t it?

           You had cursed your friends name multiple times a day for weeks as you worked on a code that would hopefully get you into the League’s systems. You kept telling yourself that this was impossible and ridiculous, but once it had been said the temptation to see if you could was too great for you to pass up. So you stayed up all hours of the night, pouring every bit of knowledge you had acquired into this code until today when you would finally be testing it out.

           Taking a deep breath, you activated the program, watching as it immediately got to work. You jumped to do your part, working in tandem as you attempted to navigate a series of the most difficult virtual security locks you had ever seen. You felt your heart thudding against your chest as you expected swat or something to break your door down any moment (hey you were a kid who knew what the JL had to handle this type of stuff).

           Suddenly your screen flickered, and your regular display was replaced by files with varying names and a navigation menu you didn’t immediately recognize as your own, and blueprints for a converted Green Lantern asteroid base came up on your screen. Your fingers stopped dead in their places and you felt your veins turn to ice as everything clicked at once.  _You had actually just hacked into the Justice League’s systems_. “Oh my god.” You whispered. As soon as you got over your shock, your scrambled to back out. You worked in a frenzy, you didn’t think you could actually do it and now you were terrified of the League busting through your window and arresting you. You quickly covered up your tracks, shutting everything down and unplugging your computer for good measure.

           You threw yourself back onto your bed, shaking as you looked at your computer system. Had you really just done that? Oh my god you did you were too young to go to jail. You eventually fell into a fitful sleep that night, awaking with a start as you felt a breeze wash over your body. Looking around the room you felt dread encompass you as you came face-to-face with Batman, Green Arrow, Flash, Kid Flash, and Robin.

           “So you’re the one who hacked into League systems.” Batman said. “We have a lot to talk about it seems.”


	14. Reader telling the team about fighting with Wonder Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can I request a mini drabble for a reader from Paradise Island telling the team about fighting alongside Wonder Woman and the Amazons? -Anonymous
> 
> Almost onto the drabbles! -Terra

           “So what’s it like?” Bart asked while sparing a glance towards where your mentor conversed with some of the other League members.

           “I’m sorry?” You replied, turning your attention towards the speedster.

           “Having Wonder Woman as your mentor, fighting alongside and Amazon. I was only able to hear about them in my time, they weren’t really around much.”

           He grimaced at some old memory but quickly recovered, to the untrained eye it would have gone unnoticed. “Why ask me? You could have gone to Cassie for the information as well.”

           “Yeah but I’m closer to you than I am to her… pleaseeee?” He gave you his bets puppy dog look to which you only sighed and rolled your eyes.

           “Very well then. The training we go through on Themyscira is rigorous to put it lightly, but it hardens you, strengthens you. You learn to forge bonds with your fellow sisters in arms, and how to fight with courage, but also as one unit.”

           “That sounds awesome, I wish I could see it in person.”

           “It is quite the feat. It is one thing to be physically capable in combat, but it is not all that you learn on the island. You learn the ideals of the Amazon people, even if you are only one of them in name. We are honor bound to uphold their ancient oaths, and always extend the hand of peace before the hand of war.”

           He was watching you with a hint of awe as you kept explaining what it was you went through on Themyscira and your code of honor. “So how does that translate to what we do out here?”

           “It is more or less the same in all honesty. There might be some small differences, but it is nothing very important that keeps us from what we do.” For the rest of the evening, you recounted your many different tales of your time on the island and your time as protégé to Diana. Eventually, your stories drew more and more of the team in, until everyone was gathered around, listening to what you were saying.

           From the sidelines, your mentor watched you with pride. The job of an Amazon was to help bridge the gaps in the world of humanity, and you were doing exactly that.


	15. Team trying the Coke/Pop Rocks combo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mini drabble for the team trying out the Coke and pop rocks thing? -Anonymous
> 
> I accidentally mis-read this as the Coke and Mentos thing my bad. I hope you still enjoy this anyway! -Terra

           “Do you ever think that maybe there’s some things you just shouldn’t do in the cave?” Artemis remarked, watching Wally and Robin set up numerous Coke bottles in the training room of the cave.

           “Nah we’ll be fine, you just worry too much. If there was something that could be broken by a little moisture it wouldn’t be in the room with the saltwater pool in the corner.” Wally said, gesturing vaguely to the corner in question. “Besides the cave has already been flooded when Red Tornados ‘siblings’ dropped in and nothing broke then so there’s nothing to worry about.”

           “That’s seawater, not sugary soda. Anyway, you two are just asking for something bad to happen.”

           “So why are you still here then?” Robin quipped at the archer. More of the team members had started to walk into the training area at the sound of voices.

           “Because when this blows up in your faces, I want to be there to witness it and say, ‘I told you so.’”

           “I’m with Artemis on this one.” Zatanna said, eyeing the two-liter bottles with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think you should test the limits of circuitry.”

           The two of them just waved her off as well and Zatanna took up a spot next to Artemis along the edge of the room. It was far enough back to be able to safely get out when this did come back to bite them. Kaldur just sighed from where he stood on Artemis’ other side, but otherwise not bothering to try and dissuade them.

           “Do not expect us to protect you from the wrath of Batman and Black Canary when you damage the training ring.” The Atlantean remarked.

           “Yeah, yeah, you guys are just worrying over nothing. Ready to go KF? You’ll need a running start to get them all at the same time.” Wally just nodded and in the blink of an eye, he had passed by their setup of Coke bottles, dropping the tablet of Mentos into each one as he passed. In no time at all the Coke bottles began fizzing and doing exactly what everyone knew they would do and spilled down onto the surface of the arena. Robin and Wally continued to cheer as they watched the fountains of fizz shoot up, but that was short lived as the lights on the training arena began to flicker, ultimately cutting out as the soda had worked its way between the cracks and down into the wiring. A small column of smoke rose from the center.

           “Oh shit.”


	16. Reader going to Black Canary for Support after a panic attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader goes to Black Canary for support after her recent panic attack -Anonymous
> 
> I’m so sorry I wanted this to be more specific but I’ve been dealing with a lot these past few days and just wanted to get something out. I hope you guys still enjoy this mini drabble -Terra

            You were sitting across from Black Canary in the room she often used for the team after the failsafe mission. You had gone to her asking for help earlier, and she was more than happy to sit down with you. You had already explained everything, about your panic attacks, and about how you were at the point where you needed help in dealing with them.

            “It’s good that you came to me.” She said once you had finished. “There’s no shame in asking for help, especially for things like this.” You felt yourself relaxing some as she spoke. Hearing her accept what you were telling her and not dismissing you was already helping out a lot, and more than you had gone in expecting. You were so used to having to deal with all of this on your own, being constantly turned away by friends and family that just hearing someone willing to help you work through this took a giant weight off your shoulders you didn’t realize you had been carrying until now.

            “What will I need to do?”

            “Well first, if you’re able I would recommend seeking me out right away when you realize you’re having one. If you can’t, then go to someone else who can help you, including other members of the team.” Canary began her advice in earnest, walking you through various techniques and breathing exercises that could help you the next time you found yourself in the midst of a panic attack. The whole time, she made sure that you were still comfortable and she didn’t dismiss any of your words or questions that she asked. She took this matter seriously, and you knew you had made the right decision by going to Canary for help.

            Eventually, all was said that had been needed to, and the both of you stood up to get ready to head back to the others. Canary had promised to sit down with each of the other members of the team to coach them in how to help those going through a panic attack (with your permission).

            Just before you turned to leave, she placed a hand on your shoulder. “Thank you for bringing this to me, it’s important that everyone here is able to get the help they need when they need it.” You just nodded. “Also remember that you’re not alone here, you not only have me to help you, but also the entirety of the League and Team for anything, anytime.”

            You gave a small, yet genuine smile, “thank you.”


	17. Team going undercover at Reader's masquerade ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble for the team going undercover at a masquerade ball hat the reader is hosting? -Anonymous
> 
> Ngl this one is very rusty but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!

           You watched through the slits of your mask, black laced fabric pressing against the skin around your eyes and upper-face. You could feel the weight of the gemstones that had been artfully set around the corners of your eyes. Your family bore similar masks, the only indicator of their identity in this hall. It was that time of year again, the time where your parents held the annual royal masquerade. It was a tradition in your family since your ancestors rose to monarchy in your country hundreds of years ago. Personally, you had forgotten the original purpose of the masquerade, now it served as more of a romanticized match-making party for the royal heirs.

           Romance wasn’t heavy in your thoughts at this point in your life, much to the chagrin of your parents. They had met each other during your mother’s first masquerade and had fallen for each other from their first dance. While you thought that the story was cute, there were other things in your life right now that occupied your attention, romance and love pushed to the back of your conscious. Your parents had all but forced you to attend, hoping that your mind would change once some charismatic individual swept you off your feet either metaphorically or physically.

           So far, their plans had failed. As soon as you were able, you had disappeared into the swaying crowds of the ballroom. You knew that if you stayed by your mother and father that they would only keep trying to pair you off with whoever was nearby. If you couldn’t get out of attending then so be it, but you wouldn’t allow your parents to keep playing cupid with you. You weren’t sure where your siblings were, but with any hope, they had also ditched your mother and father. While your siblings bought into the romantic aspect of the ball, even they had to agree that your parents were too overbearing when it came to this, though you all still loved them dearly.

           For your part, you did your best to hide among the crowds along the outskirts and ended up at the buffet table along the way. This suited you just fine, and you took to gorging yourself on the delectable treats provided, proper etiquette be damned as long as your mask was on no one would actually know it was you stuffing their face in a way that would make your mother faint if she could see you. Despite knowing that, you couldn’t help but still cast wary glances around you as you shoved the latest pastry into your mouth. Murphy’s Law was a bitch, and you wouldn’t put it past you that someone you knew would show up just as you let your guard down.

           As it turns out you needn’t have even waited for that to happen, as just as you had swallowed the last of your pastry, a figure appeared next to you, from seemingly out of nowhere. A quick out of the corner of your eye had you suddenly whirling around to face the individual, if only so that you could see them properly. The figure -the woman- you realized was clad in a white floor-length gown with gold accents. Her mask, also white in color, bore silver and gold swirls along the edges, golden leaves sparkling in the lights of the ballroom. White feathers stood from the edge above her left eye, flickering slightly in the barely there breeze created by the many moving bodies. To you she looked ethereal, and for a moment you reconsidered all those stories your mother had told you al when you were younger. As your moment of awestruck passed, you realized that her lips were moving, she had been speaking.

           “I’m sorry, what did you say?” You were sure your face gave away your embarrassment.

           “I asked if you were enjoying the evening, I don’t think I recall seeing you on the dancefloor earlier.” Even her voice sounded ethereal to your ears. You quickly shook yourself before you could get lost in your thoughts again.

           “That’s uh, because I wasn’t.”

           “Oh, not enjoying the party?”

           You hummed. “Not at first no, I was more or less forced to attend by family but, it has significantly improved.” By the way she giggled, sending your heart fluttering, you could tell she caught your not so subtle flirt.

           “Well, it would be a shame to let the night waste away without a dance.” The woman said, backing away from the table. You followed her with your eyes as she walked around you. “Would you care to dance with me?” She held her hand out, and you were just about to take it when another voice spoke up, chilling you to your core.

           “I’m afraid that won’t be a possibility, this will be their last moments alive.”

           “Cheshire.” The girl spoke with familiarity and venom, and you could only look between the two in confusion and terror. The girl turned to you, “Get behind me, I’ll protect you!” Before you could open your mouth to even begin to hint at your question, the girl you had been talking to before had already turned to face the once called “Cheshire.” She spoke quickly, words coming out sounding completely foreign to your ears as she recited her incantation. As soon as the last syllables left her lips, the magic took hold, plunging the entire ballroom into darkness. You felt someone grab your arm and take off with you in tow. For a moment you were worried that it had been the assassin, but the moonlight streaming through one of the windows in the hall caught the figure in front of you, and you breathed a sigh of relief when you caught the familiar gold and white gown.

           She pulled you down a series of corridors that by the end even had your head spinning, despite having lived in these very halls since birth. She pulled you into what you only recognized later as one of your family’s safe rooms and locked the heavy steel door behind the two of you. You were panting for breath, and despite having many questions, you were unable to get any of them out. Fortunately, it seemed your confusion was evident on your face even with your mask, and your would-be savior took the initiative.

           “Sorry for suddenly grabbing you like that, are you alright?” When you nodded, she let out a sigh of relief and continued. “My name is Zatanna, I’m here with a team that was supposed to keep you alive tonight.”

           “How…?” You were unable to finish your sentence.

           “Did we get in? We forged invitations, uh, sorry. But it worked out! You’re still alive right?” She paused for a moment and seemed to reconsider your question. “Oh right you probably want to know how we knew, well we work with the Justice League, they came across a tip about a would be attempt on your life and sent us to stop that from happening.” She paused for a moment, turning her back to you as she seemed to have a conversation without saying anything. You started to feel uneasy despite what she had said earlier. When she turned around and saw your expression, she looked sheepish as she explained it to you. “Ah sorry I’m sure that didn’t look particularly reassuring. One of our team members is capable of providing a psychic link, I was just letting everyone know that you were safe.”

           “What about the rest of my family?”

           “Also safe, they were escorted out by other members of my team the same time you were, they’re a bit shaken, but no one was hurt.”

           “The assassin… you seemed to know her?”

           She sighed. “Currently still being dealt with. We’ve run into her a few times before. She’s definitely crafty, but don’t worry as long as I’m here I promise she won’t be able to harm you.”

           “Thank you Zatanna.” She smiled and despite your still racing heart, you felt yourself giving a small one in return. “How long will we have to wait here?”

           “Hopefully? Not very long but you never know, and we definitely want to keep careful.”

           “Shouldn’t you be out there helping your team?” You sat down on one of the few chairs in the reinforced room, trying to make yourself as comfortable as you could.

           “No, as a precaution there’s supposed to be someone with you at all times.”

           “Okay…” There was a lapse into silence as the two of you continued to wait. “So uh, any updates?” You asked, fidgeting with your hands.

           She smiled, and sat down next to you, easily picking up on your nerves and bringing you into a conversation. You two talked about anything and everything as you waited for the all clear from Zatanna’s team. Occasionally you would jump as the sounds of combat echoed through the halls, but none ever strayed too close to where you were hiding, and Zatanna would be quick to divert your attention back. As the time passed you let yourself relax more and more, and it seemed that even Zatanna was as taken with the conversation as you were, so when Zatanna suddenly jumped in surprise from a knock at the door, you did as well.

           “Cheshire has been neutralized, it is safe for you two to come out now.” The voice was male, and you guessed it to be one of Zatanna’s team members.

           “We’ll be out in a minute Aqualad!” Zatanna called, getting up from her seat and helping you stand as well.

           “You know,” you said before she could leave, “we never did get to have that dance.”

           She gave a wide, genuine smile. “My apologies, your highness, such poor manners from me, however could I make it up to you?”


	18. Batgirl!Reader trying to outsmart Jaime's scarab (Jaime/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble Jaime x batgirl!reader where the reader tries to outsmart the scarab??? -Anonymous
> 
> I know it’s been a while and I’m sorry! School had already been kicking my ass but I really want to get more of these out before the end of February. Also this drabble has both Arrowette and Spoiler in it though this isn’t during season 3 so there’s no spoilers for anything that happens in that. I just wanted to use them lol

           Wind rushed around your body, the world blurring as you flew through the air in swings and flips. The adrenaline coursed through your veins and the thrill of the chase pulsed through your being. You landed with the grace of many years of experience and surveyed your surroundings. The docks of Gotham looked no different than they had the first time you had visited them. The grime and filth still permeated the air, and you knew the darkest shadows concealed the scum of the city even still. Tonight however, the air carried a certain charge to it that was mimicked by your pounding heartbeat. ****

Not one to rush ahead you took up cover, careful to make sure the area had been thoroughly surveyed like your mentor had drilled into you from the start. Nothing but the trash carried by the winds of the harbor caught your gaze, you were alone, the night was still yours. You smirked, this would be easier than you had thought. You brought you ear to your comms. “Batgirl to Robin, the coast is clear move in.”

          “Copy Batgirl, proceed to point two.” With Robin’s confirmation you finally moved from your cover, pulling out your grapple once again as you put away your “bat-noculars” as you had dubbed them much to your mentor’s internal torment. You took another quick survey of the area, seeing the faint shadows of your team moving into position. With a deep breath, you jumped, feeling the wind caress your body as you fell before you fired your line, swinging from building to building until you landed on your target. Once again secure on the roof, you met up with Robin, Arrowette, and Static.

          “Alarms and video surveillance were already out.” Static said with a look of confusion, “Batgirl, you sure we’re the first one’s here?”

          “ _What?_ ” You felt your excitement quelled immediately at the statement.

          “He said the place was already green, someone’s beat us to the catch already.” Arrowette replied.

 _No,_   _not again_. You weren’t going to let this happen  _again_. You growled and yanked open the hatch on the roof, ignoring your team’s concerned looks as you jumped through and landed among the crates inside the warehouse. You didn’t even bother taking cover, the rest of your team following with a hint more caution and some uncertain looks shared between them.

          As you rounded the corner, your heart sank when you saw none other than Kid Flash, Spoiler, Wonder Girl and Blue Beetle already waiting. “Son of a bitch!” You yelled, kicking the nearest metal barrel as you registered the scene in front of you. “ _How the fuck did you beat us again?_ ”

          “The clues to get here were a breeze with the scarab’s help, even with your attempted sabotage Batgirl though I will say you did better than last time. We got here in no time at all actually, we’ve been waiting for you guys for a while.” Your boyfriend said, a smirk evident on his blue armor-clad face, in his hands he twirled the red flag, the objective for your latest team exercise.

          “I thought you said the coast was clear?” Tim said to you, crossing his arms over his chest.

          “There was nothing on the thermal!” You cried out, throwing your hands into the air.

          “Yeah it turns out the scarab can trick your fancy bat-tech, who knew?” Jaime shrugged, and still had that infuriating smug smirk on his face.

          You just huffed, thoroughly annoyed that yet again you had failed to outsmart that god damn bug on his back. You loved the man it was attached to, but the scarab was a bit of a different story. Ever since Jaime mentioned that the scarab thought it was such hot shit you had been determined to prove it wrong one way or another. So far however any and all attempts ended just as well as this one had. You were scared to ask what the tally was by this point, but alien AI be damned you were going to one up the little blue fucker even if it was going to kill you.

          “Tell the bug that it’s got a big storm comin’.” You grumbled. Jaime just laughed and pulled you to him, placing a kiss on your forehead.

          “The scarab says it’ll see you in hell first.”


	19. Bart who only speaks in cringy slang and dead memes for a week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I need to cringe! I’d like to request a drabble where Bart decides to only speak in slang and dead memes for a week. He’d probably drive the team insane -Anonymous
> 
> Set in between season’s 2 and 3 but probably closer to the end of season 2! Also thank you guys once again for sending in your meme and slang suggestions I’ve never cringed harder when writing a drabble! Also the easiest way for me to write this was to do a small collection of “mini scenes” in which Bart would use his memes instead of spending hours I didn’t have this week with all my assignments to make it one long story so I’m sorry if this isn’t what you wanted but this was the way I could push it out faster! Enjoy!

## Monday:

           When Tim walked into the Watchtower that morning the last thing he expected was to see Bart, dressed in his Kid Flash uniform lying across a gap between two of the branches in the Watchtowers courtyard. He paused mid-step as he looked at the speedster’s placement, a faint flicker of familiarity pricking at the back of his mind at the rigid posture to Bart’s body. Then it finally dawned on him.

           “Bart… are you…  _planking?_ ”

           “Fo’ shizzle Tim Drizzle.” Scratch that maybe  _that_  was the last thing he expected today.

           “Excuse me?”

           “You’re really harshing my mellow with all those questions, not very radical behavior of you man.”

           He’s sure his eyes were as wide as saucers by now as his mind scrambled to make sense of what he was hearing. He even pinched his arms a few times to make sure he was actually experiencing this right now and it wasn’t just some weird concussion dream.

           “Flash said he spent the whole weekend reading up on slang and memes, he hasn’t stopped speaking and acting like this ever since.” Jaime mumbled, his head resting on his palm from where he sat under a different tree. “I already tried explaining dead memes and dead slang to him, but I don’t think he’s quite grasped it yet.”

           Tim already knew this was going to be a long week.

## Tuesday:

           Tim crouched among the underbrush of the jungle, using the thick foliage and natural shadows to conceal himself. The rain was light, but enough to make their stealth mission somewhat miserable with the wet seeping through the seems of their costumes and mud cling to their boots. They had been trudging through this for hours now, and now the end was in sight. There just ahead of them was the plant that had been pushing out a Reach-like drug under a new name. Kaldur had placed Tim in charge, giving him Bart, Jaime, and Vrigil to take it down.

           “Okay.” He whispered, looking over to his gathered team. “We need to do this carefully. Jaime, you and your scarab need to crunch the numbers, what are we looking at in terms of numbers and success percentage if we proceed with plan A?”

           Jaime paused, looking out over the small compound while the scarab did what it needed to do with its sensors. “Scarab says we’re looking at a thirty-two-point three repeating percent chance of success if we just barge through the front door in a full assault.”

           “Okay let’s not do that then. Static you’ll be on point.” Tim started dishing out orders for their plan B strategy when Bart stood up, pulling his red visor down in front of his eyes.

           “This is taking too long, time’s up let’s do this!  _LEEEEEEROOOYYYYY JENKINSSSSSSS._ ” Bart had sped off into the plant before any of them could stop him. The sounds of gunfire and shouting erupted from inside.

           “Oh my god we need to go in after him! Move let’s go!” Tim shouted vaulting over his hiding spot and rushing in through the front doors. Jaime and Virgil were thankfully right behind him. Inside they were met with complete chaos, enemies were scattered everywhere spraying gunfire in every which direction they though Bart was. Tim could only grumble as he threw himself into the fight, dodging what he could and taking the guards out one by one.

           Just when they thought they were in the clear, the last of the guards tied up and down for the count, Sportsmaster appeared on the catwalks above them. “I thought I heard the sound of you brats in here. Where’s the rest of your little team? Don’t tell me you’re all that came to shut this place down?” He laughed and jumped over the rails, landing on the concrete in front of them. Tim threw down some smoke pellets and circled around. Jaime and Virgil did their best to keep hitting him from range while Tim did his best to get up close and get a few hits in at crucial points. So far, it wasn’t working out well for them. He didn’t know where Bart was, but they were losing the fight badly, and they really needed his speed.

           With a few lucky hits, Virgil and Jaime were down and out. The small distraction from glancing at his teammates let Sportsmaster land a hit to him that sent him flying back and gasping for the air that had been knocked out of his lungs. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of yellow and red at the crate crane control panel, and one of the cranes lifting up.

           The crate came back around and smacked into Sportsmaster before he could advance on Tim, slapping him into the adjacent wall hard enough to knock him out. Over his shoulder he could hear Bart in the near distance.

           “HE NEEDS SOME  _MILK_.”

           He would deny ever laughing as hard as he did later when he was giving his report on what happened.

## Wednesday:

           Tim was speeding after Brick on his cycle, Cassie and Jaime right behind him. It wasn’t often the team ended up in high-speed chases but if Tim were being honest, he liked the change from the usual stealth missions where they had to watch each and every step. Bart had sped off ahead to try and cut off Brick and his thugs’ convoy. They had stolen important weapons tech, and they couldn’t afford to let him escape.

           “KF we’re losing ground where are you!?” Tim shouted into his comm. His motorcycle was fast but not fast enough apparently, especially with the way Brick and his gang were currently swerving through traffic. As much as he liked the change of pace, he did hate it when it was through the middle of a densely populated city.

           “I’m practically right there, just hang on tight for a moment everything will be totally tubular just wait!”

           “Ay mi dios.” Jaime mumbled from above. “You’d think with as fast as he goes, he would have at least caught up to current slang by now.”

           “Tell me about it.” Cassie replied, “I never thought I’d miss him saying ‘crash’ and ‘mode’ as much as I do right now.”

           “Let’s focus guys, please?” Tim called. “Blue can you get a shot at any of their tires yet?”

           Before Jaime could respond, they saw a familiar yellow and red blur cut into the street just ahead of Brick.

           “ _Damn Daniel, back at it again with the white vans!”_

           Clever use, Tim just gave snort as Brick and the rest of his gang, very much driving white vans, had no choice but to suddenly swerve and crash into each other in order to avoid hitting Bart.

## Thursday:

           Tim knew Bart was up to something as soon as he saw the shit-eating grin on the young hero’s face. The shaving cream in his hand was also a pretty good clue. With a small glance in the direction Bart was looking he confirmed exactly what was about to happen.

           “Bart if you value your life you will definitely abort exactly what you have planned.” His grin only grew wider.

           “Bart I promise you, as someone who lives with the guy.  _Don’t_.”

           “SMACK CAM” Bart screeched as he used his speed to race forward, outstretching his hand at the last moment and slapping Batman right across the right cheek with the hand that was full of shaving cream.

           “Oh my god that poor dead bastard.” Tim whispered.

           It was dead silent in the Watchtower as everyone held their breath for the Dark Knight’s reaction. For his part he stayed silent as he wiped the shaving cream off his face, completely stoic before he turned to Barry.

           “Say goodbye to your grandson until he’s born Allen.”

           A muffled “YOLO” was the only thing Tim could hear as Bart sped away with Batman hot on his heels.

## Friday:

           By now it was safe to say the entire team was sick of Bart’s new slang and meme knowledge. Sure every now and again Bart would have a clever use that would earn a small laugh or two, but for the most part they largely missed their mark prompting a lot of groans and sighs.

           Jaime had even tried bribing Bart with thirty bags of Chicken Wizee’s in order to get him to stop. It hadn’t worked so far. Nothing had, they were stuck in dead meme and dead slang hell until whatever this was had run its course with him.

           That’s why they all cringed as Bart walked up to the group. “What’s up my homeboys and homegirls?”

           “Bart we are literally begging you to stop.” Tim said.

           “No can do, haters gonna hate!”

           “Bart I will literally give you free Chicken Wizee’s for life if you stop.”

           “Lit, but as swag as that sounds, I’ll have to pass. Catch you guys on the flip side!” He called as he walked out of the room.

## Saturday:

           “Hey Robin!” Tim just cringed and tried to ignore him, hoping that Bart would leave if he didn’t say anything. From the sympathetic look Cassie gave him, that wasn’t going to be the case. “Robin! Yo Rob! Robster! Robmiester!”

           He just sighed, “Yes Bart?”

           “Something came for you in the mail!”

           In a momentary lapse of judgement, Tim made a fatal error in his next choice of words. “Oh? What came?”

           “DEEZ NUTS.” Bart’s cackles could be heard all over the Watchtower. Tim was going to murder him.

## Sunday:

           Once again Tim found himself in the middle of a fight with Cassie, Jaime, Virgil and Bart. This time however, the team had been called to assist the League with another bust this time being a large-scale reproduction of the Reach drink under a new name. Zatanna had been stationed with Tim’s squad for their particular section. Their job was to fight their way and disable of the brewery rooms.

           “Hey Zatanna!”

           “No Bart.”

           “I didn’t even say anything yet!”

           “I know what you want me to do and my answer is still no.”

           He stopped right in front of her, fixing her with his best puppy dog look. “Pleaseeee?”

           She just sighed and turned towards the rest of the team. “Everyone get up off the ground now!” Confused they did as they were told except for Bart who looked like a kid in a candy store being told he could get whatever he wanted. “eht roolf si aval!”

           Oh, that’s what he had wanted. The floor morphed from simple concrete to burning lava right before the team’s very eyes, taking out the robotic guards they had been pinned down by in mere moments. As soon as Zatanna called off the spell, Tim was quick to get his birdarangs ready before the next wave could barge in.

           “Hey Bart.” Tim handed the speedster the birdarangs primed for detonation upon impact. “These bitches empty.”

           Bart looked at him with bog hopeful eyes as if he didn’t quite believe what he was hearing. With a nod from Tim, he gently took them from his hand, turning towards the vats. “YEET.” Bart put his whole body into the throw, each of the birdarangs hitting their target and detonating the vats in an impressive show.

           “You’re encouraging him now?” Cassie called as they watched the compound explode in the distance.

           “Hey at least this one was current.”


	20. Team keeping busy with no internet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D r a b b l e please! Maybe where the team is on Internet lockdown and have to come up with a way to keep entertained? -Anonymous
> 
> So I went a bit off-prompt because the only instance I see any form of internet lockdown being an issue for the team is when it interferes with their hero job because they accidentally locked themselves out of the system and are too afraid to go to one of the League members for help. So I know it’s not quite what you wanted but I hope you still enjoy it! Also this is set just a little extra bit before season 2 so Jaime hasn’t yet joined the team! -Terra

           “How could you manage to lock us out of the  _entire system?!_ ” Cassie shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.

           “With a lot of skill and an astounding lack of intelligence mixed with a heaping side dish of Murphy's Law.” Robin replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his gloved hand.

           “This is why I told you we should have waited for the older members to get back from their mission! What are we supposed to do now?”

           Robin just kept staring at the red screen in front of him, the bright text of “access denied” blinking back at him almost mockingly. He really hated himself right now. He was so confident that he could perform the upgrades to the Cave’s computer systems himself despite Dick’s warnings for him to wait for when he, M’gann, and Conner got back from their mission with the League. Batgirl was currently away on a solo mission for Bruce, leaving him as the only Bat on the team for the week. He just wanted Dick and Bruce to be proud of his skills and to stop treating him like he was some fragile baby bird that would break under the slightest use of force. He wanted them to stop treating him like a future Jason Todd.

           “Earth to Robin! You there or are you just going to keep ignoring me?” Tim blinked as his mind was pulled back to the present. He felt his face flush as he realized he had been ignoring her for probably a good while now.

           “Sorry, what were you saying again?”

           “I asked how we were supposed to do our jobs in the meantime if we can’t get into our own computer system?”

           “That would be… a really good question. I guess watching the news would be too much to hope for until we can get this fixed?” He tried to smile and lighten the mood, but by the look on Cassie’s face she wasn’t having it with his attempts at humor and in all honesty, he did deserve the resulting smack to the back of his head. “Guess that would be a no then.” He mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else.

           “What are you two fighting about in here?” Tim cringed as he heard Karen’s voice drift into the room, Mal, Garfield, and La’gaan trailing on her heels, all of them equally curious to the commotion in the training and mission debrief room.

           “Boy Wonder over here managed to lock us out of the Cave’s systems while upgrading everything on his own even though Nightwing told him to wait until they got back. So unless we figure something out we’re basically without internet for the whole week.” Cassie huffed and put her hand on her hip, rubbing at the bridge of her nose with her free hand. “You normally handle monitor duty Mal, is there anything you think you can do to fix this?”

           “I’m not really the guy you’d want to be asking. I can try, but this system is a lot different than any I’d be familiar with. I haven’t had the time to learn its in’s and out’s yet, not like the Bat’s have. I mean I could try turning it off and on again but that might be the extent of what I can do.” Cassie audibly groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose a little harder.

           “Why should we waste time trying to figure this out on our own? Let’s just contact the League and have them send Red or someone else to clear this up for us.” Karen remarked, already bringing her hand up to her earpiece.

           “Wait no!” Tim yelled, stretching his hand out to stop her before she could make the call.

           “What now? Did you knock out our communications too?” Karen asked, one of her eyebrows raised.

           “We just barely, convinced the League to let us oversee ourselves for a week without an appointed ‘Den Mother,’ what would that look like if barely halfway into our first day we made a call to them because we locked ourselves out of the computer system?”

           “You mean you locked us out of the computer system, the rest of us did nothing.” Cassie remarked.

           “Technicalities. Besides you think the League will care? If you make that call they’ll never trust us to look after ourselves again.”

           “He does have a point.” Gar said, looking up at Karen. “They were already really reluctant in the first place.”

           “I’m sure Robin will have figured it out before the week is over. He’s a Bat, they practically live and breathe tech.” La’gaan added.

           It was quiet for a few moments as Karen considered the situation. She narrowed her eyes at Tim, “You sure you can get the system back online before the week is over?” When he nodded, she just let out a defeated sigh. “Alright then, I won’t contact the League, but you better get that system back online, priority: alpha do you understand me?”

           “Yes ma’am.” Tim saluted, barely able to hide the rush of relief he felt that followed upon knowing they were in the clear from him having to explain this mess to Bruce.

           “That’s great and all we still need to figure out what we’re doing for missions now.” Cassie interjected. “All our mission data was on file here and now we have nothing.”

           “Actually, we do have some of it.” Tim replied, fishing in his utility belt and tossing her a flash drive. “Bats teaches us to always be prepared, so I tend to make copies of current info in relation to our current missions. If we need anything else, I can always rip whatever we need from the Batcomputer back at the Batcave.”

           “And I supposed you call this your Batdrive?” She teased turning the small flash drive over in her hands, the black bat logo catching the reflection of the lights.

           “ _No._ ” Tim snapped.  _Yes._  She didn’t need to know that though.

           “Right old school it is then. I’ll go grab a laptop for us to use in the meantime. Everyone be ready for debrief by the time I get back.” Karen called, already halfway to the Zeta-tubes with Mal not too far behind her. “Oh and Robin?” He turned his head to look at her when he heard his code name. “Try not to shut off the lights or something else in the meantime.” With that, the tubes flared to life and he was left to deal with the barely muffled laughs from his teammates. He deserved that, he concluded, and went back to work on checking the wiring of the Cave’s computer in their absence.

           “This is going to be an utter disaster this week.” Cassie deadpanned.

           “I’m sure things will turn out swimmingly.” La’gann remarked, patting her on the back of her shoulder. Somehow, Cassie wasn’t all that convinced, and neither was Tim if he was listening to that quiet, honest voice he currently had shoved in the back of his mind in favor of the sweet, sweet, serenade of the voice of denial at the forefront.

          In reality, they were both completely correct. Things were indeed not going very well at  _all_. Tim was currently racing through the jungles of Santa Prisca the sounds of bullets hitting the trunks of the trees a little too close for comfort all around him. Most of the week had been much like things were now. The Batcomputer had a lot of information, but it often lacked just that tiny bit of useful data that would have been on the team’s computer in the cave, especially for missions and locations the team had been previously.

          Karen would do her best as acting leader, but all of their plans never made it far past the drop zone. Tim’s little mess up had them walking in largely blind to most of their operations, and every time they paid the price for it, just barely securing what they set out to accomplish before having to make a hasty retreat. Speaking of mess-ups, after almost the whole week Tim was still no closer to accessing the Cave’s computer than he had been when this had all started. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t get the system to let him in. Tim was ready to start banging his head against a wall if only that would be what it took for the computer to call out that beautiful “access granted” and they could all get back to their lives a little worse for wear but largely unharmed.

          If only.

          Once they were back at the cave, Cassie rounded on him. “How could you still have no idea how to fix the computer!?”

          “You’ve been watching me the whole week Cassie! You know I’ve tried literally everything I could think of short of an entire system reset! There’s nothing we can do!”

          “This is why we should have just called the League! But _noooooo,_  you wanted to save face and fix this yourself! We’ve been getting our butts handed to us this whole damn week because you said you could fix it! Well guess what? Nothing’s changed since this first went down!”

          “Cassie has a point Robin,” Karen said, peeling off her Bumblebee mask and rubbing her temples, “we’ve still got nothing a week later, we should have just contacted the League. Nightwing and the other’s will be back from their mission in the morning, you’re going to be the one to tell them since this was your doing in the first place okay?”

          “Yeah, I understand.” He really wasn’t looking forward to how  _that_  was going to go tomorrow.

          “Good, team dismissed. Everyone get some rest.” Tim didn’t wait around for too long, just wanted the morning to come quickly so that he could deal with it and get it over with.

          It was every bit as embarrassing and awkward as he knew it was going to be. He had pulled Nightwing aside as soon as he entered the next morning and fumbled his way through the events of the week. The entire time he refused to look him in the eyes, but he could tell from body language that Nightwing wasn’t too pleased with him.

          “Look, Tim,” he braced himself for what was coming, “I’m not mad that you locked yourself out of the system, we’ve all done it at some point, but I am disappointed that you didn’t ask for help, and as a result put yourself and the rest of the team in danger. You’ll get a proper reprimand and punishment for that later on.”

          He looked up then, a little shocked at how calm he was being about the situation. “That’s… completely fair, I won’t let it happen again. I’m sorry.”

          “Like I said it’s okay, but see that you don’t put the team’s health in jeopardy like that again okay? Now, let’s see if we can’t figure out what it is you did to lock yourself out.” Tim just nodded and followed Dick back out into the training room, watching as he went through the motions of checking the Cave’s internal systems. Dick was quiet for a moment as he observed the virtual keyboard.

          “Hey Robin, you did know that caps lock was on, right?”

_What._

          His face must have given his confusion away. “The caps lock is on. You  _did_ try putting the password in without it right?” With a few taps of his fingers, the system was back online, the red screen of denial fading away to the green of granted access that had the last of Tim’s soul dying inside of him. “System looks to be in order… Oh! Looks like the upgrades went in smoothly, good job Robin.” There was a bit of a pause as Dick continued to check the system. “Please tell me you guys weren’t locked out of the system the whole week because you didn’t check to see if the caps lock was on.”

          Tim just hid his face into his hand and prayed to whatever deity may or may not exist that an alert would go off somewhere or that he would spontaneously die to escape the embarrassment of his current situation. As fate would have it, no such thing happened, and Dick’s smirk only grew wider on his face as the realization set in.

          Tim was never going to hear the end of this.


	21. Sidelined Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Requests:  
> -I would like to request a part 3 to Sidelined please! I kind of like your example scenario you gave so maybe the reader has sort of been fighting crime on her own while trying to avoid her brother and the team and maybe she runs into Sportsmaster or someone from The Light and gets captured and tortured for information or something before Dick ends up tracking her down and rescuing her or something. Maybe Wally finds out as well I don't know maybe another anon can give you more to work with!
> 
> -Sidelined Pt. 2 Anon, here! I'd like to add on some ideas for Part 3! How about showing the immediate aftermath of Part 2 where the reader talks to Black Canary about how she still feels traumatized from the simulation? I can totally see her completely avoiding Wally and the rest of their family while she tries to cope with her trauma and feelings. I'd also like to see her friendships with M'gann and Artemis explored more!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I ended it prematurely because I was starting to run into writer’s block in the last scene and I didn’t want to take more time in making you all wait. Normally don’t like bringing in people who haven’t shown up in YJ but I made a small exception for Leslie Thompkins only because I didn’t know how they could have explained the situation to a regular hospital staff. To the anon that wanted more M’gann/Artemis/Reader friendship I’ll gladly put it in part 4 if people want another part when I’m taking requests again! However I only accept requests from my tumblr since this site doesn't have a great system for that.
> 
> (Since this was also part of the blog's 1.5k Followers Milestone, it will be appearing in this collection as well as it's own work)

              Adrenaline coursed through your veins, the sounds of fists connecting with flesh and grunts of pain filling the alleyway. Your breath came out in sharp pants, billowing out in front of you in the cold autumn air. You had never felt more alive than you had in this moment. You danced around the crooks, there one moment and gone the next, flowing around their attacks as if you were made of liquid. Above you, the sky was clear. Stars glittered overhead like specks of crystal.

              “Damn bitch,” the one who you assumed was the leader of the group spat, blood hitting the pavement from where your fist had split open his lip. “someone kill her already!”

              You took in your surroundings, watching as the crooks surrounded you in the narrow back alley. You weren’t nervous at all; in fact, you were quite the opposite. A smirk made its way onto your lips as you stared down the ringleader through your mask.

              “I wouldn’t look so damn smug if I were you,  _girl_.” He spat, taking a few steps towards you. “We’ve got the upper hand now, if you hadn’t already noticed ‘yer completely surrounded. Ya’ might as well give it up, ya’ can’t take us all down on ‘yer own.”

              You chuckled low; your smirk widened ever so slightly. “Can’t I though?” On cue, several smoke pellets dropped to the ground at your feet from the rooftops, activating on contact with the asphalt and shrouded you from their view. As soon as the smoke concealed you, you jumped into action, taking out legs and arms alike as the crooks stumbled around blinded, coughing through the smoke. They swung with reckless abandon in any direction they believed you were, and you used that to your advantage. Behind you through the smoke, you could hear the others that you weren’t focusing on going down. Good. The faster you wrapped this up the better.

              The two of you worked in tandem through the ever-thinning cloud of smoke, flipping and kicking and punching, and everything in between until the last of them fell. Then came your least favorite part: tying them up. This was the one part you couldn’t rush, if not done properly they could escape before the authorities arrived. So even though you operated with a small window of time, you forced yourself to work as diligently as you could. Making sure your knots were secure, you were pulled by your ally further back into the alley: time was up.

              You let yourself be led, almost tripping over the uncovered sewer grate in your haste. Just before the smoke cleared and you secured the manhole cover over your head, you could see the tips of two pairs of boots: one yellow and one red. You turned to your ally again as he led you down the twisting maze of sewer tunnels, trying not to breathe in deeper than you wee forced to at the stench that permeated the air. Sewer crawling was high up on your list of things you hated about your job.

              After a good twenty minutes of running through tunnels and making sure your trail was unfollowable, you were brought back to the surface, much to your delight, and back into the (relatively) clean air of Central City. “Cut it a little close didn’t you Rob?” You turned to your boyfriend as you slipped into the building next to the two of you. “One more second and they would have caught the two of us.”

              “We made it out, didn’t we? Besides, it wouldn’t have been as close as it was if you didn’t toy with them like always.” He snapped back, but it didn’t hold any real heat to it. You know he always enjoyed the thrill of  _almost_  being caught, slipping away at the last moment. The two of you started to go through the motions, taking off your gear and cleaning up. The old warehouse you were set up in definitely screamed “in need of repair” but the lights more or less worked and so did the water if you hit the pipes hard enough. You weren’t complaining against your hideout of choice when your only alternative was to go back to the cave, or even worse, your house. Just the thought sent a shiver up your spine and an unpleasant churning of anxiety in your stomach.

              As if sensing your thoughts Dick, now sans his Robin costume turned to you. “You can’t run from this forever you know.”

              Your lips turned down into a frown. You two had been going through this conversation more and more now since he first ran into you after you had run from the cave. You were angry still, and terrified, hiding in some of the worst places in Central City against your better judgement, anywhere that you knew your uncle wouldn’t look for you. Of course, Dick had been able to find you immediately, you weren’t good at living on the streets and it showed… and made you an easy target for some of the worst to try their luck at what few meager belongings you had swiped from your home. After saving you from a fight you hadn’t been in a situation to take alone, you had only just convinced him to help you keep hiding, just until you were ready. He agreed, albeit reluctantly, and against his better judgement, but only on the condition that you eventually go back home or at least back to the cave and talk this out with someone. There was also the bit about him keeping an eye on you as well under Batman’s nose but that was the part you cared the least about. Fighting crime only got better when you knew your boyfriend was with you giving you a helping hand from the shadows.

              Now here you were in this shithole of an abandoned building, a few weeks out from the incident with him pestering you again that you needed to go back home. Having him around had started to lose its luster, even if deep down you knew he was right. “Who says I can’t? I’m doing well enough so far, aren’t I?”

              “Only because I’m keeping an eye out for you. Look, you know I’m only saying this because I care about you. You can’t keep running from this forever. If you don’t go to them, I’ll… tell them where to find you.” Dick had placed his hand on your arm, his blue eyes boring into your own filled with nothing but genuine concern for you. Nevertheless, you felt panic begin to settle in, your heart thundering against your chest as your flight response kicked in.

              “You can’t! You wouldn’t!” You took a few steps back from him, your hands shaking at your sides as you balled them into fists.

He sighed, grabbing his shades off the counter. “I can and I will, but not yet. I can promise you maybe a week, but living like this? It’s not the right way to handle things. I  _know_  you know that.” He slipped his shades on, giving you a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the door with a simple “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

              You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down from the panic you had worked yourself into. You still weren’t ready to face your parents, your  _brother_ , of all people. Your nights were still haunted by the way he screamed your name while M’gann and Dick dragged him out of the core room during the simulation, the look on his face when you all woke back up in the cave. Maybe you were a coward but having to confront the aftermath of your bottled-up feelings of inadequacy was never something you had thought you were ever going to do. Hell, if M’gann hadn’t fucked over everyone’s mind in the simulation you wouldn’t have even blown up like you did in the first place. You would have just kept everything in, maybe lived on happily enough with Dick, maybe not, but you would have been at least somewhat content to just continue to on like you had grown somewhat comfortable with, always having to fight for every scrap of attention you could steal away from Wally’s spotlight. Yeah sure your situation always sucked, and left you crying into your pillows many nights, but you were  _used_  to it. You were pretty sure the look of devastation on Wally’s face hurt a lot more than everything you had endured up until now.

              You didn’t realize you had started crying again until you heard the distinct  _plik_  of a tear hitting the concrete at your feet. You sucked a quick breath in and used the back of your hand to wipe at your eyes. Even now the thought of your almost nonexistent relationship with your brother and your family had you breaking down, your heart wrenching and the tears cascading, yet this time it was amplified by the look of Wally’s face of complete devastation. You sighed and gave a halfhearted sniffle. There was no use in you getting angry at M’gann like that, it wasn’t her fault, not really.

              You heaved a sigh and wiped at your tears. In truth, you were tired, and not just physically. You were also completely and utterly mentally exhausted. Maybe to some degree Dick was right, that things would improve if you went back. Nonetheless you shook your head, dragging your feet to your makeshift bed in the next room. Sleep first, then you could wallow about your situation some more in the morning.

              As night turned into day, then again and again until the days began to meld together again, you still did nothing about changing your current situation. Your week was up, but Dick always was a bit of a pushover with you. Nonetheless, Dick was starting to hound you more and more now, increasingly exasperated at your actions. “Just this last patrol, I promise.” You’d tell him. Well that “last patrol” started almost a week ago, and your boyfriend was running out of patience.

              The two of you were as usual out amongst the streets and rooftops, though this time your destination would take you to the shipyard. You had been tracking weapons deals across the city for almost this whole time now. It was something you had noticed upon overheard conversations between your brother and uncle and noticed a faint underlying pattern between the seemingly random deals. They had brushed you off when you confronted them about it, but not Dick. He had listened to your theory, and even agreed that you sounded like you were onto something. It was through his skills as a budding detective that the two of you had started to uncover the gang behind the deals, hitting those on the streets at every chance. Only a few talked, and they were the ones that knew the least, but between the two of you, a case was slowly being built. Tonight was supposed to be one of their biggest deals yet, and you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to not only get more information about the one behind all of this, but also to keep a lot of dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands.

              “Thunderstrike, do you have eyes on them?” Robin’s voice rang out in your comm. You peered around the mast of the ship you were using for cover, scanning the place the deal was supposed to go down. Below, you could just make out the faint shadows of the thugs milling around the dock. Switching to night vision, you were able to count an additional three that you hadn’t seen before.

              “Twelve so far.”

              “That’s half as many as there were last count. I think it’s safe to say we have the right place. I’m almost in position to get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

              “Copy.” You took your hand away from the comm and kept an eye as more and more thugs seemed to appear out of nowhere. You could feel your stomach dropping with each new person to show. Your chances were looking increasingly slim, even with Robin at your back. “Robin.”

              “I know. This isn’t looking good.” There was a brief pause before Robin spoke again. “It looks like some of them have patches on their jackets. I can’t get a good look from here. Can you?”

              “I can try hang on.” You peered around the mast again, zooming in with a new feature on your mask courtesy yet again of your boyfriend. It wasn’t perfect, everything was still slightly blurry, but you were still able to just make out the design on the patch. “I’ve got it. It looks like…” Your blood turned to ice. “Oh no.”

              “Thunderstrike?”

              “It’s them, Robin.” You heard him swear, followed by a quick “I’ll be right there” before the comm went dead. You slipped back into your hiding spot, trying to gather yourself. The Brass Ravens was their name. A new and upcoming weapons gang that seemed to take Central City by storm over night. Your Uncle Barry and Wally had been on their case for months now, but they always proved just a little too good at covering their tracks, leaving nothing more than the tiniest scraps behind for your uncle to pick up. All of this suddenly made a lot more sense now. Operating through unmarked “front gangs” was typical of their MO, allowing the real gang to keep their distance from the public and operate largely unhindered. The fact that their “core” members were actually making an appearance gave away just how big and important this deal tonight was going to be.

              Robin appeared beside you just as you had finished your last thought. His face was a mixture of grim reality and panic. “We need to bail.”

That wasn’t what you were expecting. “What do you mean we need to bail? We can’t just let them go through with their deal!” You hissed at him.

              “Well we certainly can’t fight them on our own!” He snapped back. “We’d get killed for sure!”

              “There must be something we can do! This is the best break we’ve gotten on this case ever! If we can just get one of the marked gang members  _maybe_  we can actually get some useful information. I can’t just walk away from this.” Maybe you were being stubborn, irrational, whatever, but you knew deep down it would be wrong to walk away and do nothing while a deal like this would put countless innocents in danger. You would never be able to forgive yourself if you knowingly let that happen.

              “I’m not suggesting we do nothing, we bail and leave a beacon for other league members to intercept, draw them to the deal and let them handle it.” He said, crossing his arms across his chest.

              “Will they even get here in time?”

              Robin hesitated, and though it was just for a brief moment, it gave you the answer you needed: there wasn’t one. You stood up. “I’m going in whether you’re there to back me up or not.”

              The sharp hiss of your real name startled you into looking at him. “Listen to me! This is serious, not some small-time gang establishing their territory. These people are the real deal, and way above  _both_  you and me! Going in there will just get both of us killed, and I’m not going to just sit here and watch you die again!” Your eyes were wide with shock at his outburst. The way his hands clenched on your upper arms, the slight tremble to his voice and frame. He was hurting, just as you had been. You felt the guilt wash over you instantaneously. You had been so caught up in your own issues that you hadn’t even once thought about how traumatizing the failsafe mission must have been for him as well. To believe that everyone he had known and cared about was dead, and some by his orders. You never thought about how he might have felt about knowing he left you to die in the core of the ship.

              “I just can’t…” His voice was even lower now, and you hated how broken it sounded.

              “I’m so sorry.” You whispered; your own head bowed in shame. “I spent so much time stuck in my own pity that I didn’t realize how you must have felt.” He opened his mouth to speak, but you pushed his arms off you. “But I won’t put innocents in danger. With no guarantee that the League will get here in time, I’m going in.”

              He called your name again and this time grabbed your wrist. “Don’t, please.”

              “I would never be able to forgive myself if they got away because the League didn’t get here in time, Dick. This is the only option. Drop the beacon, I’ll buy as much time as I can.” He moved to stop you again, but this time you were ready. As his other arm moved to restrain you, you grabbed and twisted him around, pushing him off the edge of your perching place so he’d have to grapple to safety. You felt horrible for doing it, but the time he’d spend getting back up to your hiding spot would give you enough time to move in.

              And that’s what you did. One moment you were perched on the edge of the clearing, the next you were gone, hidden in the shadows as you called on every last bit of training you had in you. You picked off the guards along the edges one by one, but you knew that your job was only going to get more and more difficult despite shortening the numbers gap between you and them. The guards you were incapacitating were the unmarked ones, the weakest and least trained members. The gang members in the middle all carried the patches. You found yourself hoping for the first time in a long while you’d see your Uncle before you had to go into the open.

              However as in your usual case of luck, it was not on your side. You don’t remember much about the following series of events, but you did know that you were easily, and laughably unmatched. You did your best, but in just a few short minutes, you were out cold. As everything faded to black you thought you heard Dick in the distance, but you were unable to process it before you were completely down for the count.

*****

              The first thing you registered upon waking up was the pounding of your head, the agonizing throb at your temples and where you (eventually) remembered being struck. You couldn’t suppress the groan of pain that escaped you. Nausea crashed over you as you swayed in your spot, your stomach twisting and churning and threatening to upheave at every pulsating jab of pain. Thinking was difficult, but you forced yourself to calm, and gather your bearings to the best of your abilities. Sweat broke out along the expanse of your skin with the effort of pushing past your pounding head and extreme nausea. That’s how you deduced that you were still in costume, sans your gloves and (presumably your utility belt (You still hadn’t been able to work yourself up to opening your eyes yet). Concussion. You  _definitely_  had a concussion.

              Right in that moment, you noticed you weren’t alone in the room. Your stomach became a pitfall (albeit a still churning one, fucking nausea). There were slow footsteps in time with the pulsating in your head moving around you in a circle.

              “Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join us.” The voice came from the wrong direction of the footsteps. Not the person in the room with you then, as the voice came from in front of you slightly above. There was a hint of static to it, a speaker then. So, who was the guy circling you, a goon? It seemed the most likely. This meant the voice in the speaker was the one in charge. Not so good then. If the boss was speaking to you via a speaker that meant there was almost certainly an accompanying camera meant to watch you. This would make any attempt at escape a lot more difficult. “Now, normally I’m not one to cut to the chase, however, I’m on somewhat of a time crunch at this time so I’ll make myself perfectly clear: you’re going to give me all the information you have about the Flash and his little League buddies. Then you’re going to tell me everything about your little gaggle of will be’s.”

              You felt your anger rise. Like  _hell_  you would ever tell this sleaze bag anything. However, at the moment your stomach held you back from saying the rather colorful string of words that you wanted. The footsteps stopped, and suddenly a hand was gripping your chin, holding your head up so that his rancid breath rolled across your face and assaulted your senses. “You better answer when ‘ta boss is talkin’ ‘ta ya.”

              Well, he did ask for it. The moment you opened your mouth, the contents of your stomach proceeded to evacuate you and project themselves all over his face. Your satisfaction was drowned out by the booming laughter coming from the speaker above.

              “Ha! Serves you right not following my orders!” The laughter eventually subsided, and you could hear a warmer tone creeping into his voice which had your hair standing on end. “Please forgive my rather dull-minded hireling Jared, he was instructed to bring you back unharmed, but clearly my orders need to be further…  _ingrained_.” The way his voice dipped into maliciousness at the end sent a bolt of fear through you. Not much was known about the leader of the Brass Ravens, save that he seemed to have zero motive for his actions. Nothing seemed to matter to the guy, as he had sacrificed men, money, deals, anything and everything while your Uncle had been trying to build a case against him and trace him down. Could it just all be for his own enjoyment? Possibly, but that thought threatened a more sickening reality that you really wished wouldn’t come true. The world was bad enough with the Joker, it didn’t need another, arguably more terrifying one.

              “Ah but you’re no use to us concussed as you are, little one.” The man cooed, his voice now back to its warmer tone. We’ll continue this once you’re all better. Don’t worry, you’ll be well taken care of in the meantime.” You didn’t like that, you certainly didn’t  _trust_ that, but at the moment you had no choice but to be at this man’s mercy. “Oh before I forget, Jared?” You saw the man in question stiffen as his name was called. “Report to me immediately so we can discuss your disobedience.” Jared’s facial expression certainly didn’t help placate your fear for your own well-being. You actually felt bad for him, and you hoped that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, though you knew it was likely worse.

              True to his words, you were actually treated fairly well. Shortly after Jared had left, another person entered. This individual wearing medical gear, proceeded to check you over as best as he could without removing any of your costume. “Boss’ orders” was all he told you when you managed to ask why. None of your situation made a lot of sense, and it kept you on edge despite the three hot meals that tasted admittedly amazing and quality medical care. Your concussion wasn’t too terribly serious, and you were estimated to be back to complete functionality within the week. This gave you time to look around your cell. Despite the otherwise quality treatment, you hadn’t been moved to another room, just given an old mattress to sleep on and a thin blanket. When you could, you looked around for anything that would aid you in your escape. However, the sheer small size of the room prevented you from being able to pilfer any of the equipment your “doctor” brought in with him. The camera was positioned to give a complete view of your cell. You were effectively fucked in the escape department, and as the days passed you grew more and more desperate. You tried asking about Jared a couple times, just to gauge on what you could expect when your week was up, but the uncomfortable looks that passed across the faces of those you interacted with only had a bigger pit of fear forming in your gut.

              There was no escape from your cell, at least for the moment. The night you were finally cleared of your concussion, you couldn’t sleep. You feared what the morning would bring. When you finally did manage to pass out from sheer exhaustion, it wasn’t for very long before  _his_  voice rang back out over your speaker, accompanied by a few guards bursting into your cell and restraining you on your knees in the middle of the room again.

              “Time’s up, my dear! I’m so glad you recovered okay; I was just  _terribly_  worried about you the whole week! I sure hope you thought about my request of you earlier. The information you have about the League would just be the cherry on top of the cake of seeing you healthy again.”

              “Go fuck yourself.” You spat. Your body was gripped with fear, but like hell you would give up anything about your family, about your friends or the rest of the League.

              “Ah but I was so hoping that you’d be grateful for everything I’ve done for you that you’d just give me the information. Oh well, I guess we have to do this the hard way then. Boys?  _No permanent damage._ ”

              As soon as the words left his mouth, the four guards in the room with you moved in. They wasted no time in taking turns holding you down while one would rain down punches and kicks. As soon as one got his fill, it would switch to the next. Every time there would be a brief pause, as the man in the speaker asked you again for you to give up the information you had. Each time you found a new and more creative way to tell him to fuck off, and the cycle would continue. Time became a blur as the beatings continued. If you had to guess, by the time your body ached with every slight movement and the blood bubbling past your lips, it was hours at the least.

              That was how they left you, on the cusp of what would constitute as permanent damage. That night you just lied there, the strength to move beaten out of you. You felt the tears pebble in the corners of your eyes as the night continued on, exhausted but in too much pain to drift into unconsciousness. You didn’t want to cry, least of all in front of him. You didn’t want to give him any satisfaction. Your tears didn’t fall that night, but they would before long.

              Your days continued much in the same way as the first. The only inkling you had of time passing at all was the meals brought to your cell. Most days you barely had the strength left to drag yourself over to the tray slid under the door. Your body was supporting multiple dark bruises now, and quite possibly a multitude of fractures. Each day had brought new means of torture for you, increasing in intensity while still falling just short of that line. Occasionally you noticed the guards would be different after some time. As if reading your thoughts, you heard the boss’ voice over the loudspeaker. “Gotta switch them out every now and again! They get mean the more you make them do it. I can’t have them breaking you before you spill the beans after all!” You almost wanted them to cross it, anything to give you a reprieve from the hell you were subjected to. Each time he would ask you to give up what you knew, and you still refused. It was the only thing you had, and no matter what your personal issues was with your family, you would never betray them.

              That night, as you lie there in the middle of your cell, cold, bruised, bloody, wet -they had decided to try out waterboarding earlier that day- you finally broke down in tears. Your mind kept replaying the looks of devastation on Dick’s face, on Wally’s. Sometimes your mind would slip in a few of your more pleasant memories of your childhood, back when your relationship with your brother was a lot better, when he seemed to care about you. You weren’t sure if those helped or if they only hurt you more.

              You wondered if you were ever going to see them again. You wondered if you were going to break before then. Nothing in this place made much sense. The voice on the speaker, the boss -you had still never gotten a name- refused to take off your mask and costume. He wanted you to give the information as voluntarily as you could in your situation. At your darkest, you found yourself hoping that your family, your friends, your team, that everyone would be okay if you died in here.

              You weren’t sure how many more days you spent in a haze of pain in that cell when you could just barely make out the sounds of commotion echoing through the halls. You forced your head up off the ground, looking up at the locked door as you tried to make sense of what was going on.

              “Well, my dear. It looks like our time might just about be up for now.” The voice rang out over the static of the speaker. He sounded angry, dangerous under the thin layer of over-sweetness you had become used to hearing from him. You had a lot of questions, but you were in too much pain to put any voice to them for the moment. Thankfully, he continued on. “It looks like your little League buddies managed to find you after all.” You almost didn’t believe him, but the sounds were getting louder as they drew closer, you could distinctly make out the sounds of fighting through the solid metal of the door. Your immense rush of relief was abruptly cut short however, as he spoke once again. “But don’t you worry, my sweet. We aren’t done yet, I’ll come back for you when I can. There’s still so much I can learn from you, and you owe me from keeping those brutes from hurting you too bad.” With that, the speaker cut out for the final time. As it did so, gas started pouring in from the vents in the ceiling of your room. You tried to hold your breath, but your injuries prevented you from being able to hold out. Your vision quickly started fading in and out, and you finally lost consciousness as the door to your cell opened.

 *****

              When you woke up, it was to a room you were unfamiliar with. You moved to sit upright but your body screaming in agony halted your attempts before you could even begin. You took in your surroundings. You were currently in a bed, the sheets pulled up to about the middle of your chest. Admittedly you were rather comfortable despite the aches in every limb. The walls were a faded green, a TV sat on top of a dresser in a corner to your left. A vanity was next to that and a third dresser was on the opposite side of the room on your right next to a bookshelf. Pictures hung on the walls, but the room was too dim to make most of them out. They very easily could have just been framed paintings if you were being honest. The room smelled faintly of lavender and medical supplies, which caused you to suddenly look down at your body in alarm as the memories came flooding back to your mind. Your hand ripped back the blankets covering you, your mind reeling at the sight of the medical bandages covering your form and the dark bruising in between them. Most important, you weren’t in costume, and a quick brush of your fingers against your face confirmed that your mask was gone as well.

              A groan of pain slipped past your lips from all the sudden movement, and on cue, the door to your right opened. Your eyes widened when you recognized Black Canary walking in, and you managed to relax with the knowledge, though you were still brimming with questions.

              “I brought you some water. I won’t ask how you’re feeling. I can take a good enough guess by looking at you.” She pulled up a chair and helped you into a sitting position. It took a lot of effort, but you were thankful when you did, gulping the offered water down as your dry throat made itself known. Looking down at your right arm, you could see the portion of the IV called the “cannula” still taped to your body. You don’t know where the rest of the IV was.

              “Where am I?” You managed to ask.  You had to clear your throat several times before the words would come out.

              “You’re currently in the guest room of my apartment.” You raised your eyebrow, and Canary took that as her chance to continue. “After you ran out when you woke up from the failsafe mission, the rest of the team gave their reports on what went wrong. It was determined amongst the League -except for your uncle- that until we could perform a formal investigation into your living conditions, you would be placed with one of us once we found you.”

              “Why?”

              “Emotional abuse and neglect is just as serious as physical. This was to make sure more harm wasn’t being done until we could determine if it was safe to keep you with your parents or to look for another option for you.” You didn’t really know what to say. Your mind was still reeling from your ordeal and now from the information Canary had given you.

              “Thank you.” It just as lame to say as it sounded, but you couldn’t think of anything else. “How… how did you guys even find me?”

              She sighed. “Robin. He dropped the emergency beacon, but the League didn’t arrive fast enough to save you before you were gone. He gave Batman all the information the two of you had gathered and then left with Robin to reprimand him for helping you this whole time and not coming to the League immediately after finding you.” She looked like she wanted to say more but shook her head.

              Batman soon entered the room, causing you to tense in apprehension. He always did intimidate you a little, even more so now that you knew you were probably going to get in big trouble for acting how you did. “It’s good to see you awake, maybe you could answer some of the questions we have regarding your captors.” Canary gave him a glare, but he didn’t flinch, turning to her instead. “Dinah you know as well as I do that the sooner we catch the people responsible, the better. All of this is time sensitive.” She seemed unhappy but made no more move to stop him.

              “You were pretty bad when we finally did get to you, but the doctor we had looking over you noticed there weren’t any breaks, would you mind explaining that if you could?”

              “The people that had me, they wanted me to give up the information I had on all of you willingly. I guess making sure I wasn’t too seriously injured was part of that plan.”

              “They wanted you to think you owed them the information. They treated you well at first, then made sure a line wasn’t crossed. They wanted to like them, or they wanted you to fear how bad they could get so you’d tell them what they wanted to know.” You just nodded at Batman’s explanation. It made perfect sense to you.  

              “Did you get the leader of the Brass Ravens?”

              “No, but we did find writing on the wall of his office.”

              “What did it say?”

              “Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore.’” Batman looked to you for an answer.

              You sighed. “I asked him what his name was you know, early on. I guess he actually did give me an answer after all. ‘Nevermore.’”

              He nodded. “I’ll put it in the file. For now, you’ll stay here with Canary. Until we can determine what your situation will be, all contact with your brother and family will be cut off so as not to potentially cause any more damage between both parties. Try to get some rest.” With that, he left. Dinah left shortly after, going into the kitchen to get you some food for you to eat after your stomach had growled loudly. Leslie Thompkins -the doctor the League trusted with their identities- would be back in the morning to do a check up now that you were awake.

              Later that night, you found you couldn’t fall asleep. It wasn’t from the pain of your body, though that could have been a small factor. It was from the situation you had found yourself in. There was a chance that you would never see your family again, never have to deal with always being second in comparison to your brother. Once upon a time that had been your wish when you had found yourself at your lowest, but now that it was an actual possibility? Your heart felt conflicted. A part of you still loved your family, loved your brother despite all the things you had gone through. A part of you just wished that Wally was here right now to comfort you like he used to before he ever got his powers. You weren’t sure how you were supposed to feel in this moment.

              There was a lot you needed to say, not just to Wally, but also to Dick. You needed to apologize to him, tell him that you hoped he could still forgive you after what you did. You hoped that things weren’t ruined between the two of you.

              This time you’d tell him that you loved him, and not a death simulation, nor some gang would take that away from you.


	22. Reader floods the Watchtower with popcorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This might be a little random, but what about a drabble where the reader buys a popcorn machine, but it ends up breaking and filling the watchtower with popcorn? -Anonymous
> 
> So I changed things a little to where the League just has an industrial popcorn machine for reasons speedster. -Terra

           To be fair, you  _were_  pretty new to the Watchtower. How were you supposed to know that the popcorn machine labelled in the League’s kitchen was an  _industrial one_  meant specifically for the speedsters and their heightened metabolisms? One minute you were minding your own business, wanting popcorn for the movie you were viewing on your tablet, the next you heard a rumbling from the kitchen area, where you had set the machine for a “large” and came back out to wait. The next moment, the door burst open and thousands of pieces of buttery deliciousness came pouring out, flooding the entire ground level of the League’s orbiting headquarters.

           Thankfully, you had managed to pull the plug on the machine before you had a chance to get drowned via movie snack, but now it left you with a pretty big and admittedly kind of hilarious problem. How were you supposed to deal with the unholy amount of popcorn blocking your access to the zeta tubes?

           As it stood, you were the only  _person_  in the entire watchtower. Superboy had left you Wolf for company. An injury had kept you off any team missions until it healed -though it wasn’t anything too serious- and the League was busy with relief efforts after a natural disaster struck overseas. It was safe to say you would be stuck alone for quite a while and you weren’t sure if wolves could actually eat popcorn let alone how much before it would become a serious health hazard. You could just  _feel_  your arteries clogging at the sea of white and gold that stretched below you. You could probably swim in it if you were determined enough.

           You pulled yourself back from the edge of the first-floor landing and looked at your canine companion next to you, watching the way he kept licking his lips as his nose worked overtime to take in the smell of the highly coveted human food. You were pretty sure he was about five seconds from drooling if he wasn’t already there. “Hey.” He (reluctantly) turned his head to face you. “You can only have a  _little bit_ , okay? This stuff has a lot of salt and butter on it and I don’t want you to get sick or die from it.” He huffed in what you certainly hoped was understanding before Wolf quite literally dove headfirst into the popcorn below. You couldn’t help but laugh as you watched his massive white form become completely engulfed, only for his head to resurface a few moments later and gobble up whatever was closest to his mouth.

           Well, Wolf certainly knew how to make the most of his opportunity. You looked back over your shoulder at your forgotten tablet, and back to the mass of popcorn below you. No one would be back for several hours, maybe even most of the day. Surely you had plenty of time to finish your movie before you had to clean up right? You certainly thought so. Without any further ado, you grabbed your tablet and followed Wolf’s lead in diving into the buttery hellscape. Both of you would definitely need a shower later, but for now, you made yourself comfortable and started your movie pack up, occasionally grabbing a handful of your snack abundance from any direction and munching on it.

           Soon, one movie turned into several as you lost track of time. By the time the team made it back to the Watchtower they were greeted with the sight of you and Wolf in what could only be described as a popcorn coma. The two of you lying on top of the barely dented hills of your botched snack run.

           You nearly jumped out of your (now buttery) hoodie when you heard the sound of Kaldur clearing his throat. “Oh hi there. Do any of you guys want some popcorn? I think I might just have enough to go around.” There were a few snickers from behind your leader, and said leader was doing a poor job of trying to hide his amused grin behind a reprimanding look.

           “Would you care to explain what happened?”

           “I uh, ordered the large?” Kaldur’s look faltered just a little more.

           “You used the wrong popcorn machine.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. However, as he said this, his stern façade gave way to genuine amusement.

           “In my defense, it wasn’t labelled very well.”

           “We need to clean this up before the League returns.” Of course Kaldur was being responsible, that’s why he was the leader, but, you didn’t really feel like cleaning up just yet. You held your tablet up a little higher.

           “I can make this a projector with one button.”

           Your leader full on grinned. “I suppose the League won’t be back yet for a few hours. One movie wouldn’t hurt.”


	23. Reader with powers that derive from their imagination binging horror movies/books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sure thing! May I request a drabble for a reader who’s powers come from her imagination, but she did a horror marathon reading/watching? -Anonymous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a quick rundown of how I interpreted the Reader’s powers: Basically with their powers the Reader can make anything in their imagination a reality. This means any constructs can alter the world/physically interact with it. In the case of these horror creatures/characters, they gain all the abilities they had in their respective books/movies and can indeed kill people in the real world if they want. -Terra
> 
> Also for some clarification, this is not to be interpreted as a Dick Grayson x Reader, this is to show a platonic relationship between the two as Reader is a minor while Dick is an adult. This is meant to be more a mentor/protege interpretation.

           Your heart was pounding against your chest, your sweat beading upon your brow from the exertion and fear coursing through your veins. Your eyes were wide as you took in your surroundings in a frantic motion, your mouth agape with the attempt to bring enough oxygen to your lungs. The coast was clear for the moment, you weren’t followed. Your mind supplied a very unhelpful  _that you know of_  that you did your best to shake off. Your situation was bad enough without your thoughts further sabotaging your brief reprieve. You tried the code on the Watchtower’s zeta-tube console, your gut churning with dread as the console failed to spring to life.

           There was no escape. You were stuck in here  _with them._ You heard a rustling in the vents beneath you and froze in terror. Of course, it wouldn’t be long before you were found. The Watchtower might be big, but as a former Green Lantern base, it had a lot of open space. There weren’t many places for someone like you to hide. You gulped, and froze in your place, hoping that it wasn’t one of the creatures that could hear the beating of your heart, or pick up on your heat signature. You let your breath out (slowly) when the shuffling faded as the creature moved on.

           You didn’t dare waste anymore time. You took off down the few corridors the Watchtower held, doing your best to be as discrete as you possibly could. You were all alone on an orbiting space station-asteroid-thing while your literal worst nightmares roamed the same paths in an effort to bleed you of your life. The League, the Team, all were gone on missions, and with the Zeta system to at the very least the Watchtower down, it would be hours before anyone would arrive to save you from yourself. Yes, this situation was of your own creation, and the reason why you had been left behind in the first place. Your powers were born from the limits of your own imagination. Anything you could ever dream of; you could mold into reality.

          Of course, this was just as much a blessing as a curse. Fear made your abilities unstable, out of your control. You learned this the hard way at a young age. A simple thirty second add for a horror movie while watching television with your parents, and the next thing you could comprehend was screams their agony as the creature manifested itself in front of your very eyes and ended them with no mercy.

          It was hours later the League had found you, and decided to take you in. You were told later on that the creature you had described was just standing there when they arrived, that somehow you had managed to deconstruct it on your own when you had first glimpsed the red and blue of Superman’s suit. You weren’t sure how, and you weren’t sure why the creature hadn’t killed you as well, and it had become your mission to find out how to master your abilities.

          That was why you were left behind despite being a member of the team. You were understandably deemed too dangerous to bring out onto missions until you could control your abilities, something you had no issue with. You could kill people by losing control, you didn’t want that to happen. On the Watchtower, your creations couldn’t escape to wreak havoc on the local population like they could if you were in the cave. They were just as much stuck in here as you were.

          And it was because you were alone that you had committed what was undoubtedly your worst decision yet, and you’re proud to say you’ve made quite a few in your life. You thought exposure to your worst trigger of your powers would help you, so you sat down with your laptop and played the few horror movies you had loaded onto there the night before. A lifetime of avoiding anything related to the horror category of entertainment had left you more than ill-prepared for some of the even “milder” horror-type stuff than you had thought (if some of them could even be considered horror, you weren’t exactly an expert on movie genres). So you had started with one of the  _Alien_  movies, of course then you jumped to one of the  _Predator_  ones, and worked your way up to ones like  _Insidious_  and  _The Ring_  (among a few others) and you were now suffering from it. So you had Xenomorphs, demons, predators, and -you didn’t quite know how to classify some of the other ones- you had no idea how to get rid of them. Well, you did know that the first step was to not be afraid, but it was difficult when you kept imagining your parent’s bodies and what your creations were capable of.

          By the time you locked yourself in the League’s briefing room, your lungs were on fire, sweat pouring down your forehead and face from the exertion of running. You could hear some of the creatures outside the door, but they didn’t yet make an attempt at coming in. You weren’t sure how long that would last. You sat in the back corner of the room as far away from the door as you could manage, bringing your knees to your chest.

          “-come in. Can you hear me?” Your comm device had you almost jumping out of your skin, but you would be lying if you didn’t feel the immense relief at hearinf your team leader’s voice right now.

          “I’m here, Nightwing.”

          “That’s good to hear. Listen, we can’t access the Watchtower. The whole place has been put on lockdown and the Zeta-tubes are offline. What happened?” He was concerned, and it helped soothe a bit of your fear to know that.

          “I wanted to test my powers a little since no one was around… it got a little out of hand and I can’t make them go away.” You felt a small bubble of shame surface at the admission, realizing how dangerous the situation you had put yourself in was.

          “The Watchtower was set to go on lockdown in case of event like this, since the League couldn’t be sure that your constructions couldn’t use your Zeta designation to leave.”

          “What does that mean for me?” You were staring to get worried again, you thought that hearing his voice meant that he and The League were on their way in the bioship to take care of this like that had every time before.

          “It means no one can get in, even if we fly up there, until they’re gone.”

          It was at that moment you began to panic in earnest. To make matters worse, your panic attack set off your creations, and you could hear them clawing at the door to get in. The whole time, Nightwing was in your ear, trying his best to talk you down from your frenzied state and get your breathing back under control. “I…  _I can’t_. I can’t control them.” You whispered, your voice on the verge of breaking.

          “Yes, you can. You did it before. You’re stronger than you think you are, we all know it, the only one left to believe is you.”

          You let out a small laugh despite yourself. “That sounds corny.” Before he could say anything else, you let out a startled scream as the Xenomorph construct crashed into the room from the vents above. Your heart was immediately thrown into a rapid frenzy as the onyx creature began to creep towards you, hissing and showing off it’s razor sharp teeth. You started backing away, and before you realized what it was doing, it had put itself between you and the corner you had been in previously, your back to the ever-weakening door that held back your other creations.

          Tears were streaming from your eyes now, your heart beating with such force that it was bordering on painful. If your constructs didn’t kill you, you were sure your heart would end up giving out. You could hear Nightwing’s voice, but it sounded distant in your current state. You were trapped and there was nowhere left to run.

          The Xenomorph kept coming closer, and now you could see it’s weird second jaw darting in and out as it was almost upon you. “The key isn’t getting rid of your fear!” Nightwing’s voice managed to cut back through the fog.

          “What?”

          “You’ve spent all this time attempting to not feel any fear when it comes to your abilities, but that’s not how you’re going to get control of them. You need to be able to act in spite of your fear! Feeling fear is natural, but you have to learn to be the one to control it, not to let it control you.”

          Shaking worse than a leaf, you turned your focus back to the advancing Xenomorph, trying to pour all your frustrations about your failed attempts to control your powers to the forefront. You were still afraid, but you had been afraid back then too, and yet you still somehow lived. You squared your shoulders, and with as much force as you could muster, you shouted. “Stay back!”

          The Xenomorph halted in its tracks, and you nearly collapsed from it as a result. You could still hear the others pounding on the door behind you, the metal of the door groaning from the effort. It wouldn’t be long before it finally gave way. You had to act fast. “Back up.” You tried another command, and you almost couldn’t believe you eyes when the Xenomorph did exactly as you had commanded it, going until it touched the other wall. You took a few steps forward and started to feel emboldened when it didn’t react. The final test. “Disappear.” With a hiss, the construct faded from existence. You fell to your knees, the memories from before making their way to the surface. You remembered yelling at the creature then to leave you alone and wishing the League would make it go away when you saw Superman approaching.

          They were  _your_  creations, and they would do as you commanded. Not the other way around. You turned to the door just as the other constructs finally bent the metal to pour through. Though they still terrified you, you knew they wouldn’t hurt you if you didn’t want them to. Taking a deep breath, you fixed them with a determined glance. “Go away.” In an instant, they joined the Xenomorph and faded from existence.

**No hostiles remaining, lockdown Terminated. Zeta-tubes are now back online.**

          You collapsed to your knees as you heard the Zeta tubes flaring to life, announcing members of the team as well as the League. That was how Nightwing found you a few moments later, taking deep breaths as you attempted to bring yourself down from the worked up, stressed out state you had been in for the larger part of the day.

          “Thank you.” You mumbled when he knelt next to you.

          “I only reminded you of what you were already capable of. You did this all on your own.”


	24. Reader forces the team to listen to listen to music they don't like as retaliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terra, will you be my fairy godmother and grant me a wish to have a drabble? The reader finds out some of the team doesn’t like the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack and decides to declare war by rigging the intercoms to only play the music when on standby -Anonymous
> 
> I kind of just picked a few randomly off the list to listen to since there’s like 78 tracks to it. I tried my best considering I’ve never played the game and have zero context for the tracks. Also most of the ones I was picking were hard to match to combat on sound alone, so if there was a better combat option on there I didn’t use it’s because I was picking randomly -Terra

           You smirked as you heard the Zeta-tubes flaring to life in the next room. Robin and Kid Flash had finally arrived at the cave, meaning that everyone was present.  _Good_ , you thought. Now was the perfect time to enact your revenge.

           Conner and Wally had mentioned earlier that they hadn’t cared for the music you had playing while you trained the previous week, and you had to do a mental double-take to make sure you were hearing them correctly. You had explained that it was from one of your favorite games, Kingdom Hearts, and Wally made a face.

           “Oh, you mean that kids’ game?”

           Bitch.

           It was on after that. You had spent what could be considered an unhealthy amount of time hacking into and rigging the intercom system in the entire mountain. And today, was the day you would make Wally suffer. You waited a few minutes, making sure everyone was settled into their activities before you ran the program. The system you designed was that it would cycle through the entire soundtrack when everyone was in downtime between missions. Obviously, you set it to cut out when Batman calls the team for debrief, you wanted petty revenge, not something that would mess up everyone’s ability to do their jobs. Otherwise however, certain songs would loop under special circumstances to fit the shift in ambience or tone.

           But enough of your stalling, your petty revenge awaits you. Without further ado, and a grin that would rival a hyena’s, you pressed the button to start your revenge. It took a few moments, but you could hear the beginning cords of the main theme beginning to play quietly through the cave. You would have set it to just blast the soundtrack, but you wanted to irk Wally, not make the rest of your team get pissed at you as well.

           The crescendo of the piece began to rise, though overall the music was still a soft background noise, just enough to break the otherwise silent air of the mountain no matter where one was. There was a pause from the training and debrief room as you assumed everyone was trying to piece together the sudden appearance of the music. You couldn’t wipe the grin off your face, enjoying the melody of what was in your opinion, an amazing composition. It didn’t take more than a few seconds before you felt that telltale gust of wind, the sound of shoes sliding against the rocky floor as the man of the hour slid to a halt in front of you.

           “Why.” The first thing out of his mouth when you opened your eyes.

           “It’s a good game, Wally.” It was all you said and  _would_  say on the matter. You got up to head to the training ring, waiting for the next part of the surprise. Wally was hot on your heels, trying to get you to turn it off, asking why the you were being so petty, etc.

           “Fine then,” you turned to him once you were on the ring, the panels glowing as it loaded up. “If you can beat me two out of three, I’ll turn the music off.”

           You heard Robin snicker from over your shoulder, followed by a muttered “I knew it this had to be their work.” From Artemis.

           “Hand-to-hand only. No powers.”

          “You’re on.” Wally remarked, a cocky smirk on his face.

          You winked and returned to him a smirk of your own. The music over the speakers shifted as the combat program finished loading, “Fragments of Sorrow” beginning to spill forth. You heard him groan, and you used that moment of distraction to move in, catching him off guard. The match, and the one after, were won with ease. Wally was distracted by the music every time it would shift to a new song, giving you the openings, you needed to take him down.

          “Looks like the music is here to stay.” You joked, your eyes shimmering with mirth.

          “You cheated.” He grunted, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

          “Music to match the mood isn’t cheating. Besides, a hero needs to know how to fight despite distractions in the environment.”

          “They have a point Walls.” Robin said, his own grin on his face.

          “This doesn’t bother you?” Wally asked.

          “I actually like the game too. You should play it yourself.”

          Wally just groaned. It was going to be a long day for him. “If I play the game, will you stop?” He had turned to you, his eyebrow raised in question.

          You threw him a controller. “I already have the game loaded and waiting.”

          He floundered for a moment, flabbergasted. “You two planned this!” You just turned and left the room, laughing to yourself. Something told you that he’d end up liking the game before the day was over.


End file.
